Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Hazel Partridge: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

Hazel Partidge Image 5
Beautiful nature themed artworks by Hazel Partridge were one of my top picks at this year’s New Designers show, so I was thrilled that she took up the offer to submit for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Her gorgeous papercut piece was inspired by a poem from Black Country poet Liz Berry.

Hazel Partridge Image 11
I found you at New Designers, what was the best thing about that show for you?
New Designers was really inspiring and informative, the atmosphere was great and it was packed the whole time! I really enjoyed looking at the work from all of the different disciplines and Universities; it was really encouraging to see such diverse ideas and products from this year’s graduates. The most useful aspect of the show was that it gave a great opportunity to speak to representatives from the creative industry; at the Falmouth University stand we met people from publishers, agencies and design companies, all of whom were really enthusiastic about our work.

Hazel Partidge Image 9
Hazel Partidge Image 6
How did studying at Falmouth Uni inform your illustrations, it’s such a beautiful town!?
Falmouth is such an inspiring location, and I think everyone studying there would agree! Working in a collaborative studio environment is something that I really miss, it’s so useful to be able to see what others are working on, and get reliable feedback on your own work as well. Nature is a recurring theme for me, and exploring the local Cornish landscapes definitely influences my illustrations. I scuba dive and rock-climb regularly, seeing the world from a different perspective- whether it’s underwater or from halfway up a sea cliff – gets me away from my desk, and more productive when I am back there.

Hazel Partridge Image 4
Where do you like to go when you are at home in the Cotswolds and in need of inspiration?
I’m lucky to live close to so many beautiful places; I love a good long walk through the woods and fields with friends, and heading over to Wales with my family on our motorcycles. I also find a lot of inspiration through reading, I’ve recently finished The Worm Forgives the Plough by John Stewart Collis, which I enjoyed.

HAZEL PARTRIDGE
Can you tell us what inspired your double page for my book?
My colouring page was inspired by imagery from Bird by the Black Country poet Liz Berry. I caught a snatch of the poem; the lines ‘I shed my nightdress to the drowning arms of the dark, my shoes to the sun’s widening mouth’ on the radio, and jotted them down so that I could find out the rest. A little research later and I had discovered an amazing poem that was rich with themes of metamorphosis and migration, and which evoked an enticing yet slightly unsettling atmosphere.

Hazel Partidge Image 8
What are your preferred methods when making artwork?
My illustration was created using cut paper, inks and digital editing. My current favourite mediums to work in are lino print and papercutting, I really enjoy how the process flows- starting with a blank surface and then removing bits of it until the design emerges (hopefully) unbroken. Although working traditionally is by no means the fastest method of producing images in these styles, I find that the results have a warmer and more authentic quality than they would if created digitally as I have put a lot more of myself into their creation.

Hazel Partridge Image 3
Hazel Partidge Image 7
You obviously have a great love for birds as they feature widely in your work, what is your favourite bird and why?
My favourite bird is probably the magpie, because not only are they intelligent and beautiful, but they have such a rich folklore surrounding them – most people know the One for Sorrow rhyme, for example. My illustrative work reflects my interests in natural history and science, and although my images are often decorative I enjoy researching the background information on my subjects and trying to keep the designs accurate.

Hazel Partridge Image 3
What new projects are you working on now?
I am currently working on a series of privately commissioned images featuring various birds in their natural habitats. It’s always hard to part with my original artworks, but it’s lovely to know that they are going to a good home where they will be displayed properly rather than sat in a folder in my studio. I’ve got a few print-based projects in the pipeline as well, but I can’t say more about them at the moment, and as Christmas is on its way I’m beginning to plan some festive projects too. I post on social media frequently, so updates can be found there.

Find Hazel on Facebook, Twitter @HP_Illustrates, Instagram @hazelpartridgeillustration and Tumblr. You can colour Hazel Partridge‘s art in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside that of 40 other international artists. Funding on Kickstarter with only 10 days left, so get your copy now, it makes a fantastic Christmas gift!

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring, ,Adult Colouring, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Bird, ,Christmas, ,Coloring for Adults, ,Colouring Book, ,Cotswolds, ,Falmouth University, ,Hazel Partridge, ,illustration, ,interview, ,John Stewart Collis, ,Kickstarter, ,Lino printing, ,Liz Berry, ,nature, ,New Designers, ,One for Sorrow, ,Papercut, ,The Worm Forgives the Plough, ,wales

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Georgia Ruth and review of debut album Week of Pines

Georgia Ruth by Gemma Cotterell
Georgia Ruth by Gemma Cotterell.

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.

Georgia Ruth
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!

Georgia Ruth by Laura Griffin
Georgia Ruth by Laura Griffin.

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. 

Georgia Ruth by Rhi Pardoe
Georgia Ruth by Rhi Pardoe.

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

Georgia Ruth
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. 

Georgia Ruth by youdesignme
Georgia Ruth by youdesignme.

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… 

Georgia Ruth
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! 

Georgia Ruth by youdesignme
Georgia Ruth by youdesignme.

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. 

Georgia Ruth Week of Pines album cover
Week of Pines by Georgia Ruth is released on 20th May 2013 by Gwymon Records.

Categories ,Aberystwyth, ,Aimee Mann, ,americana, ,brighton, ,British folk music, ,Bryn Derwen, ,cardiff, ,Codi Angor, ,Dovecote, ,Gemma Cotterell, ,Georgia Ruth, ,Gwymon Records, ,Hank Williams, ,Harp, ,In Luna, ,interview, ,Joni Mitchell, ,Kate Bush, ,Laura Griffin, ,Melanie, ,Old Blue, ,Paul Simon, ,Rhi Pardoe, ,Sandy Denny, ,Seeing You Around, ,Snowdonia, ,South Wales, ,Spillers Records, ,wales, ,Week of Pines, ,Welsh folk songs, ,Winter, ,youdesignme

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sue Denim, talking about debut solo album And The Unicorn:

Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts
Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts.

Sue Denim is one half of electroclash duo Robots in Disguise, who launched with a bang in the same year that I began making Amelia’s Magazine: in fact they were featured in the first ever issue. Eight years and several albums down the line RiD have built a huge fanbase, particularly in Europe, where they are much loved. But for now Sue is taking a break: leaving the busy London streets for a simpler life in Wales, where she has lovingly crafted her acoustic debut solo album. And The Unicorn is a world away from the bleeps and shouts of RiD but it nonetheless bears her hallmark bounce in a series of incredibly catchy tunes which wonderfully showcase her sweet soprano voice.

SUE_Denim-CD_FRONT
Your debut solo album eschews the electronica of Robots in Disguise in favour of a much warmer lo fi sound. How did this radical departure come about?
I wanted it to sound very different from RiD, wanted it to be simple and warm in terms of sound. Then I found producer David Wrench, warm simplicity in recording being one of his trademarks!

sue_denim_by_angela_lamb
Sue Denim by Angela Lamb.

When did you start working on your solo material, and what was the biggest difference to working together with Dee Plume?
I started writing songs on my own about 5 years ago, just after the recording of RiD‘s 3rd album, ‘Get RiD!‘, when I had a lot of time alone in Berlin, and found I loved writing on my own. Biggest difference – I was able to express myself fully without any compromise and get songs finished quickly!  Less arguments! But also, less laughing. Good and bad points to working alone. 

When did you leave London and what prompted the change of scene?
I had been living in Wales to make the album and I just couldn’t move back, for various reasons (see next Q!)

Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts
Sue Denim by Louise Bennetts.

I believe you fell in love in Wales, not just with the land but with a person… can you tell us more about what happened?
Love at first sight happened. Amazing! And then we made a record together. It’s been a very wonderful year.

What inspired the lyrics and feel of the album?
All sorts really. Some love, some loss of love, books, bikes, fresh air. Many changes – changes in relationships, including me and Dee not writing together, some death, some fantasy. Just my life I guess.

YouTube Preview Image
I love your animated video for the first single Bicycle – can you tell us more about the making of this.
I worked with the brilliant Graeme Maguire, who’s been a friend for years, we met in Berlin, and have worked together twice before – to make RiD’s ‘We’re In The Music Biz‘ and ‘The Tears‘. It was originally not going to be an animation, but just as we were about to shoot it all fell apart as our ideas were too ambitious for our budget. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could’ve happened – I think it’s an amazing animation, I couldn’t be happier with it!

Sue Denim by Lea Rimoux
Sue Denim by Lea Rimoux.

What has been the biggest surprise about living in Wales? 
The biggest surprise was how bored I have been on occasion!! I really thought ‘only boring people get bored’. Hmmm. You gotta be SO much more creative about finding interesting things to do in Bangor. I’m used to London/Berlin, where amazing cultural opportunities are everywhere. But I love so many things about it, too. The fresh air, the water, mountains, beaches..all the proper nature you just can’t get in a big city. And there’s a really exciting music scene. Check out Y Niwl, they’re  my fave Welsh rave at the moment!
I’m over my bored phase now! 
Gonna be learning Welsh in a week or two, very excited!

Sue and the Unicorn by Emli Bendixen
Any top tips for a trip to Anglesey?
Yeah. Spend a night in Barclodiad Y Gawres (Apronful Of The Giantess!) – it’s a Neolithic burial chamber – I haven’t done it yet but I plan to! Let me know how it goes! And then, of course, Llanddwyn Island – totally beautiful.

sue denim
What next for your solo project… where does it all go from here and what’s happening with Robots in Disguise?
I’ll be recording a second solo album soon, I can’t wait! And there’ll be some gigs coming up from us RiD playing all the golden oldies but no new music planned as yet. Nothing ruled out though, we may well get around to album 5 in the future!

And The Unicorn is out now on Sue’s own label, Superhealthy. Sue Denim plays Islington Academy on Friday 14th September.

Categories ,And The Unicorn, ,Angela Lamb, ,Bangor, ,Barclodiad Y Gawres, ,berlin, ,bicycle, ,David Wrench, ,Dee Plume, ,Get RiD!, ,Graeme Maguire, ,Islington Academy, ,Lea Rimoux, ,Llanddwyn Island, ,Louise Bennetts, ,RID, ,Robots in Disguise, ,Superhealthy, ,The Tears, ,wales, ,We’re In The Music Biz, ,Y Niwl

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Amelia’s Magazine | Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Tripod Stage Review: Sunday

Illustration by Dan Heffer, ask pharm Hat by Angela Bruce; The Hedgerow Collection

I’m not sure if it’s the wedding’s I’ve been too recently or the press attention regarding ladies hats at certain summer races (hello Ascot) or whether it’s as simple as the sun being out, but recently I’ve been paying more attention to headwear. It was therefore a great pleasure to be invited to Kensington and Chelsea College’s End of Year Millinery exhibition.

Who could resist Anna Pulleyn’s Forgotten Garden Collection?

Illustration by Krister Selin

Illustration by Lauren Macaulay

The quality of the work on display was unmistakable and the sculptural and innovative shapes a joy to look at. Each Milliner created a story around their final collection, the materials used were inspired by Japanese textile techniques, mechanics and traditional stories; for example Rachel Fallon’s take on Alice in Wonderland.

Illustration by Rachael Price

Another classic text revisited was the greek tragedy of Narcissus. Hannah-Kates Morgan collection was inspired by the story of a man simultaneously in in love with and in turmoil with the sight of his own reflection, coining the term Narcissism. A comment perhaps towards the trend in fashion to be socially elite both towards people and the different mediums of the trade?

Beth Simpson’s collection was inspired by the collection of the Marchesa Casati. Beth describes the collection’s muse as “extravagant, eccentric and bizarre, who for the first three decades of the 20th Century astounded Europe.”

Kate Underdown’s collection was inspired by medical specimens and the anatomical drawings by the Victorians sourced from the Hunerian and Grant Museums of Medicine.

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Elaine Lax’s wonderful Mechanical Movement collection created from the building blocks of machinery, that is required to keep our way of life moving.

Congratulations to all the students for a wonderful show and to Kate Underdown, Awon Golding, Rebecca Coffee, Angela Bruce, Ellen Bowden, and Mandy Mcgregor whose hats were selected to be exhibited at Fenwicks.

Photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft

Illustration by Dan Heffer, diagnosis Hat by Angela Bruce; The Hedgerow Collection

I’m not sure if it’s the wedding’s I’ve been too recently or the press attention regarding ladies hats at certain summer races (hello Ascot) or whether it’s as simple as the sun being out, buy but recently I’ve been paying more attention to headwear. Therefore it was a great pleasure to be invited to Kensington and Chelsea College’s End of Year Millinery exhibition.

Who could resist Anna Pulleyn’s Forgotten Garden Collection?

Illustration by Krister Selin

Illustration by Lauren Macaulay

The quality of the work on display was unmistakable and the sculptural and innovative shapes a joy to look at. Each Milliner created a story around their final collection, pharmacy the materials used were inspired by Japanese textile techniques, mechanics and traditional stories; for example Rachel Fallon’s take on Alice in Wonderland.

Illustration by Rachael Price

Hannah-Kates Morgan’s collection – revisited another classic text; Narcissus or Narcissim – was inspired by the greek tragedy. A comment perhaps towards the trend in fashion to be socially elite both towards people and the different mediums of the trade?

Beth Simpson’s collection was inspired by the collection of the Marchesa Casati. Beth describes the collection’s muse as “extravagant, eccentric and bizarre, who for the first three decades of the 20th Century astounded Europe.”

Kate Underdown’s collection was inspired by medical specimens and the anatomical drawings by the Victorians sourced from the Hunerian and Grant Museums of Medicine.

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Elaine Lax’s wonderful Mechanical Movement collection created from the building blocks of machinery, that is required to keep our way of life moving.

Congratulations to all the students for a wonderful show and to Kate Underdown, Awon Golding, Rebecca Coffee, Angela Bruce, Ellen Bowden, and Mandy McGregor whose hats were selected to be exhibited at Fenwicks.

Photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft

Illustration by Dan Heffer, viagra 60mg Hat by Angela Bruce; The Hedgerow Collection

I’m not sure if it’s the wedding’s I’ve been too recently or the press attention regarding ladies hats at certain summer races (hello Ascot) or whether it’s as simple as the sun being out, sickness but recently I’ve been paying more attention to headwear. It was therefore a great pleasure to be invited to Kensington and Chelsea College’s End of Year Millinery exhibition.

Who could resist Anna Pulleyn’s Forgotten Garden Collection?

Illustration by Krister Selin

Illustration by Lauren Macaulay

The quality of the work on display was unmistakable and the sculptural and innovative shapes a joy to look at. Each Milliner created a story around their final collection, the materials used were inspired by Japanese textile techniques, mechanics and traditional stories; for example Rachel Fallon’s take on Alice in Wonderland.

Illustration by Rachael Price

Another classic text revisited was the greek tragedy of Narcissus. Hannah-Kates Morgan collection was inspired by the story of a man simultaneously in in love with and in turmoil with the sight of his own reflection, coining the term Narcissism. A comment perhaps towards the trend in fashion to be socially elite both towards people and the different mediums of the trade?

Beth Simpson’s collection was inspired by the collection of the Marchesa Casati. Beth describes the collection’s muse as “extravagant, eccentric and bizarre, who for the first three decades of the 20th Century astounded Europe.”

Kate Underdown’s collection was inspired by medical specimens and the anatomical drawings by the Victorians sourced from the Hunerian and Grant Museums of Medicine.

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Elaine Lax’s wonderful Mechanical Movement collection created from the building blocks of machinery, that is required to keep our way of life moving.

Congratulations to all the students for a wonderful show and to Kate Underdown, Awon Golding, Rebecca Coffee, Angela Bruce, Ellen Bowden, and Mandy McGregor whose hats were selected to be exhibited at Fenwicks.

Photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft

Illustration by Dan Heffer, thumb Hat by Angela Bruce; The Hedgerow Collection

I’m not sure if it’s the wedding’s I’ve been too recently or the press attention regarding ladies hats at certain summer races (hello Ascot) or whether it’s as simple as the sun being out, dosage but recently I’ve been paying more attention to headwear. Therefore it was a great pleasure to be invited to Kensington and Chelsea College’s End of Year Millinery exhibition.

Who could resist Anna Pulleyn’s Forgotten Garden Collection?

Illustration by Krister Selin

Illustration by Lauren Macaulay

The quality of the work on display was unmistakable and the sculptural and innovative shapes a joy to look at. Each Milliner created a story around their final collection, cheapest the materials used were inspired by Japanese textile techniques, mechanics and traditional stories; for example Rachel Fallon’s take on Alice in Wonderland.

Illustration by Rachael Price

Another classic text revisited was the greek tragedy of Narcissus. Hannah-Kates Morgan collection was inspired by the story of a man simultaneously in in love with and in turmoil with the sight of his own reflection, coining the term Narcissism. A comment perhaps towards the trend in fashion to be socially elite both towards people and the different mediums of the trade?

Beth Simpson’s collection was inspired by the collection of the Marchesa Casati. Beth describes the collection’s muse as “extravagant, eccentric and bizarre, who for the first three decades of the 20th Century astounded Europe.”

Kate Underdown’s collection was inspired by medical specimens and the anatomical drawings by the Victorians sourced from the Hunerian and Grant Museums of Medicine.

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Elaine Lax’s wonderful Mechanical Movement collection created from the building blocks of machinery, that is required to keep our way of life moving.

Congratulations to all the students for a wonderful show and to Kate Underdown, Awon Golding, Rebecca Coffee, Angela Bruce, Ellen Bowden, and Mandy McGregor whose hats were selected to be exhibited at Fenwicks.

Photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft

Illustration by Dan Heffer, help Hat by Angela Bruce; The Hedgerow Collection

I’m not sure if it’s the wedding’s I’ve been too recently or the press attention regarding ladies hats at certain summer races (hello Ascot) or whether it’s as simple as the sun being out, sale but recently I’ve been paying more attention to headwear. Therefore it was a great pleasure to be invited to Kensington and Chelsea College’s End of Year Millinery exhibition.

Who could resist Anna Pulleyn’s Forgotten Garden Collection?

Illustration by Krister Selin

Illustration by Lauren Macaulay

The quality of the work on display was unmistakable and the sculptural and innovative shapes a joy to look at. Each Milliner created a story around their final collection, the materials used were inspired by Japanese textile techniques, mechanics and traditional stories; for example Rachel Fallon’s take on Alice in Wonderland.

Illustration by Rachael Price

Hannah-Kates Morgan’s Narcissism collection, revisited another classic text; the greek tragedy of Narcissus.

Beth Simpson’s collection was inspired by the collection of the Marchesa Casati. Beth describes the collection’s muse as “extravagant, eccentric and bizarre, who for the first three decades of the 20th Century astounded Europe.”

Kate Underdown’s collection was inspired by medical specimens and the anatomical drawings by the Victorians sourced from the Hunerian and Grant Museums of Medicine.

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Illustration by Charlotte Gibson

Elaine Lax’s wonderful Mechanical Movement collection created from the building blocks of machinery, that is required to keep our way of life moving.

Congratulations to all the students for a wonderful show and to Kate Underdown, Awon Golding, Rebecca Coffee, Angela Bruce, Ellen Bowden, and Mandy McGregor whose hats were selected to be exhibited at Fenwicks.

Photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Lulu and the Lampshades

On Sunday we lost a few and gained a few. Pete Lawrie called by with terrible hayfever to say he couldn’t sing for fear of losing his voice but kindly volunteered to perform at another Climate Camp benefit. Of course I made him stand in front of our banners so I could get a photo anyway.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Pete Lawrie
Pete Lawrie.

Robinson just didn’t turn up. I missed a phone call whilst doing an impromptu Green Kite Midnight gig at the Greenpeace Stage, price which laughably requested that I get on the radios to sort out a vehicle escort to meet them from their Acoustic Stage gig (erm, website like this did you read any of my emails?) They then ignored all my later frantic calls. Professional. Still, they probably wouldn’t have had much of an audience, what with them clashing with that embarrassing worldcup football match and all.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Pete the Temp

I missed most of Pete the Temp but managed to catch him performing some fun mashed up covers dressed in a tutu from our grand raffle.

katie-harnett-lulu and the lampshades
Lulu and the Lampshades by Katie Harnett.
Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Lulu and the Lampshades

Lulu and the Lampshades decided to play at the last minute once their Glastonbury tickets were confirmed. Fronted by my former art editor, the super talented Luisa Gerstein, I am ashamed to say that this was the first time I had seen them perform live. I had previously only visited them on myspace, which really doesn’t do justice to their ace live performance. Playing on a variety of strange string instruments, an old typewriter and an assortment of pots, pans and donating buckets scoured from the Climate Camp kitchen, they were incredibly inventive.

katie-harnett-lulu and the lampshades
Lulu and the Lampshades by Katie Harnett.

Both myself and Luisa have camped extensively with Forest School Camps, and her glorious melodies reflect the mix of traditional English, Irish, Scottish and American Bluegrass music that we love to sing around campfires.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Lulu and the Lampshades
Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Lulu and the Lampshades

Lulu and the Lampshades ended on an acapella version of traditional gospel song You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone – here performed with just two of the band members and some old yoghurt pots (another trick I suspect she learnt around the campfire). A cult classic if ever I saw one – there are already multiple tributes on youtube.

YouTube Preview Image

Luisa’s best bit about playing the Tripod Stage: our make-shift drum-kit from the catering tent.
Luisa’s best bit about Glastonbury this year: Sunday evening: Mountain Man in the Crow’s Nest followed by Dirty Projectors followed by Stevie Wonder; twas dreamy. 
 
You can catch Lulu and the Lampshades at Bestival later this year.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Cats and Cats and Cats

Cats and Cats and Cats then borrowed a number of instruments from Lulu and the Lampshades to play another exclusive for the Tripod Stage, lead singer Ben George having come down from his parent’s pottery stand in the Green Fields to offer us the gig. Quite fortuitously Cats and Cats and Cats have their debut album If I’d Had An Atlas out next week, so we were treated to stripped down versions of a range of songs which I’ve since been able to listen to on record.

cats and cats and cats
Cats and Cats and Cats by Farzeen Jabbar.

When and where was the album recorded?
If I’d Had An Atlas was recorded over 11 days in deepest darkest Wales (Giant Wafer Studios in the Brecon Beacons), it was great to be so far away from any bustling cities and we could really concentrate there. We also did some recordings of extra instruments (tuba, cello, accordion etc.) in Folkestone at Barewires Studios.

What inspired the name If I’d Had An Atlas?
The name is from a lyric in the title track which reads “I don’t know, if I’d had an atlas, where we would be,” which fell out of my brain at some point and I scribbled it down. I like the imagery of someone imagining that if they’d had a map they would have done things differently but of course there is no map and life is chaotic and that’s why it’s amazing.

What was the best bit about playing on the Tripod Stage?
I really enjoyed just turning up and using what instruments we could gather to piece together a set and then managing to pull it off! Thanks loads to Lulu and the Lampshades for lending us their equipment and also for being really brilliant. The only bad point was when I dedicated a song to my brother only to find he’d run off to watch Nora Jones!

What was your favourite part of Glastonbury this year?
I saw some of my favourite Glastonbury performances this year by bands like: Boxcar Aldous Huxley, Tubelord, the Dirty Projectors, Meursault and Imogen Heap; I was also gobsmacked at the lightning men and amounts of fire in Arcadia. But I have to say the weather, I was there for 8 days and I didn’t see a drop of rain. Amazing.

What other festivals are you playing at?
We’ve got a couple more lined up in July: Lounge on the Farm in Canterbury on Friday 9th (at 12pm) and 2000 Trees Festival in Cheltenham on Saturday 17th. Then we’ll be playing a farewell show for our violin player in London at some point as she’s leaving the band, but we’ll be back on the scene in October for a UK tour. Hopefully see you soon.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Cats and Cats and Cats

Ben has one of those voices that delights in the slightly out of the tune: it shouldn’t work but most of the time it somehow does: his wailing vocals become a feature in themselves, especially when offset against such a lush backdrop: brass, strings, entire orchestras, choirs, all have their place on this album – occasionally screeching to a standstill that echoes the offkilter vocals. It’s all great fun. Stand out single A Boy Called Haunts is a triumphant melody about… a boy who is trying to impress a girl, so he dresses up as a ghost on Halloween. Only trouble is that he then becomes a real ghost and discovers that she spends her free time having sex with men in porn films. As you do. Ben has been learning Japanese for 3 years so he decided to write a song in Japanese “half to see if I could and half to show off”.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Cats and Cats and Cats

Towards the end of the album curveball Suizokukanni works surprisingly well, even if the subject matter is equally bonkers. In it Ben’s fictional brother talks to the fish in the garden pond so he gets shunned. One day Ben hears the fish in the garden calling his name and realises he can talk to them. The last line roughly translates to “Lets go to the aquarium together and never return!”. This is followed by the beautiful The Smallest Song, a much quieter and more subdued affair, even as the brass section kicks in. The next single will be If I’d Had Antlers, which features sawed and plucked violin melded to trademark awkward beats and a surprisingly delicate melody. Watch out for the animated video. Cats and Cats and Cats might be an acquired taste, but they’re wonderfully original and definitely a grower. Well worth checking out.

carolyn-alexander-attila the stockbroker
Attila the Stockbroker by Carolyn Alexander.

Our final performer was another late booking – Attila the Stockbroker, pint in hand, gave us some grand punk beat poetry. 60 years old and able to give any number of youngsters a run for their money. I’d like to see more of him one day.

Glastonbury 2010 Climate Camp Attila the Stockbroker

And so ended my Tripod Stage musical line-up. And what a joy it was. Here’s hoping we can do as well next year…

Categories ,2000 Trees Festival, ,Acapella, ,Acoustic Stage, ,Arcadia, ,Attila the Stockbroker, ,bestival, ,Bluegrass, ,Boxcar Aldous Huxley, ,brass, ,Carolyn Alexander, ,Cats and Cats and Cats, ,Climate Camp, ,Crow’s Nest, ,dirty projectors, ,Farzeen Jabbar, ,folk, ,Forest School Camps, ,Green Fields, ,Greenpeace, ,Imogen Heap, ,Katie Harnett, ,Kitchen, ,Lounge on the Farm, ,Luisa Gerstein, ,Lulu and the Lampshades, ,Meursault, ,Mountain Man, ,Pete Lawrie, ,Pete the Temp, ,Pottery, ,Robinson, ,Stevie Wonder, ,Traditional Music, ,Tripod Stage, ,Tubelord, ,wales

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Amelia’s Magazine | The Sounds of Ghost Folk: an interview with Samuel Mason of Die Man Die

Die Mason Die by Daisy Steele
Die Mason Die by Daisy Steele.

Die Mason Die describe themselves as ‘Making ghost like noises with bearded grins‘ and they are set to make major waves on the UK music scene with the release of new single You’re Lonely, accompanied by a dreamy video featuring a little girl, metaphorical fish and exploding patterns of animated colour. You’re Lonely perfectly showcases the woozy vocals of singer Samuel Mason, and it’s a fine example of what they term Ghost Folk. I spoke with Samuel to find out more.

What prompted the creation of You’re Lonely? Can you tell me the story of the tune…
I wrote You’re Lonely at 17. It was a simple song written acoustically about the pendulum swing of dynamics in a certain relationship. I felt it had a lot of space to build a strong bed of textures and create a strong sense of character for each section. Our producer Bryan Wilson helped us to achieve the lush sound we were looking for and we really enjoyed the freedom of throwing everything into it and seeing what stuck.
 
Die Mason Die
What typifies ‘Ghost Folk’? 
The tag was coined as something not too constraining and slightly intriguing. We’re just as interested in soundscapes and textures as we are in the powerful, traditional aspect of folk music. The personal aspect more than the ideological. Much of our live set is as much about the atmosphere as the song. Although some of our melodies and progression have their roots in folk, I wouldn’t say we’re a folk band. Folk has odd connotations these days and what passes as folk isn’t really folk music as we understand it. We wanted to show our debt to it nonetheless.

When did you start creating music, and what were your early inspirations?
I started writing when I was about 13, I was heavily into progressive rock. Bands like Pink Floyd, Rush and Mars Volta. So up until about 17, I was writing sprawling 15 minute epics, they were pretty dreadful. I started listening to Tom Waits, Waylon Jennings, The Band (to name a few) and quickly fell out of love with the 15 minute prog behemoths and started writing actual songs.
 
Die Mason Die by Shoga Studio
Die Mason Die by Shoga Studio.

How did you hook up with the other members of Die Mason Die? 
Stefan was running a bar with his brother and I knew his musical skills from his days with Citadels. George and I went to secondary school together in Sydney and Dave and I met through a friend who knew we were on the lookout for a drummer. It came together very quickly and we’d recorded a live EP within a few weeks.
 
How did you come to be living in London, and what do you most miss about Australia?
I only lived in Australia for around 4 years after moving there from North Wales so it was never truly home. Most of my family are still over there so it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them, but three years ago I felt I should move to London to pursue music.

YouTube Preview Image
What can viewers expect from your ‘cult travel documentary?’
My friend Jordan Cross put together the trip, it was simple, 12 friends on a 1950′s double-decker driving across the globe from London to Sydney, it was an experience like no other and I’m just excited to see the film as anyone else. There is an ocean of footage so it’s still in the editing stages. Our video for Lost was shot during the trip when we were in India.

Die Mason Die - You're Lonely Artwork
What next from Die Mason Die?
3rd September is our single launch hosted and released by Young and Lost. Then it’ll be a combination of live shows, plans for the next release and constant development for the rest of the year and beyond. We haven’t been together for a year yet so we are just pushing forward, keeping our heads down and staying out of trouble. There’s lots of exciting news to come.

You’re Lonely comes out on the 9th September with Young & Lost Club. Details of the launch party at the Seabright Arms can be found below:

Die Mason Die launch party invite

Categories ,australia, ,Bryan Wilson, ,Citadels, ,Daisy Steele, ,Die Mason Die, ,folk, ,Ghost Folk, ,interview, ,Jordan Cross, ,Lost, ,music, ,Seabright Arms, ,Shoga Studio, ,The Band, ,Tom Waits, ,wales, ,Waylon Jennings

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Amelia’s Magazine | Yeasayer – Odd Blood – Album Review

pe-yeasayer-odd_blood

Odd Blood, online the second album from Brooklyn natives Yeasayer, drugs has been a long time in the making. Following their critically acclaimed debut album All Hour Symbols in 2007 diehard fans have been waiting three long years for the follow up, illness so the pressure was on for the trio to not let their devoted followers down. And fret not, freaky ones, they have delivered a belter.

The beauty of this band, which is obvious from the outset, is that they don’t adhere to rules of genre or influence, and so laugh in the faces of us lazy writers, who like nothing more than a nice neat pigeon hole to squeeze music into. It is easy to toss the names of MGMT, Animal Collective and TV On The Radio about when discussing Odd Blood, but that would be an injustice to the originality and creative flare of Yeasayer.

Somewhat of a reinvention from their debut album, throughout Odd Blood we get smacked about and sonically felt up by cow bells, fuzzy rock guitars, world drums, break beats, ooohs and ahhhhs, hand claps, synths. To say that their influences are broad is like saying that John Terry has a ‘bit of an eye for the ladies’. This is no ordinary electro pop record.

yeasayer

Album opener The Children is a dark and moody march through echoing marimbas, layered and lowered electro vocals, lush saxophone hooks and an ominous sentiment. Yet it seamlessly segues into their first single Ambling Alp – a slab of cockle-warming pop, which leaves you grinning your face off, hugging your mates and baying for more. It is this obvious penchant for catching the listeners off guard that makes this album so irresistible. Anthemic Madder Red sees big beat tribal drums, middle-eastern pop and indie guitar solos meshing together as if they had always been harmonious bedfellows.

Second single, O.N.E is one of the most uplifting break up songs I have yet to hear. Blissed out harmonies bump along to a backdrop of break beats, bouncing eighties influenced synths and just the right amount of cowbell.

However this is not a completely perfect album. There are a couple of weak spots, namely Rome with a baseline slightly too close to Fat Boy Slim’s Weapon Of Choice for comfort, and then there’s easily forgettable Strange Reunions, but all in all this is a staggeringly impressive experiment in reassessing and rearranging the current pop landscape, creating a genre busting, deliciously weird result. Odd Blood is easily in the running for being one of the best and most innovative albums of the year.

Yeasayer were featured in issue 9 of Amelia’s magazine and also featured on our compilation USB stick.

Categories ,All Hour Cymbals, ,Animal Collective, ,Fat Boy Slim, ,mgmt, ,Odd Blood, ,TV on the Radio, ,Yeasayer

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Amelia’s Magazine | Beach Break 2010 Review

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman
Saturday night saw the end of a series of seminars organised by Details on Request, hospital a small collective of artists in East London, on ‘irrelevant learning’. Hosted by ‘creative technician’ Andrew Jeremy Houghton-Robinson, it was two hours of ‘debate’ that explored the idea of how we are attracted to thing. Sold as a conversation about the effect advertising can have on us, the public, it became a messy exchange of thoughts and the Gossip Café’s charming garden was left resembling a chaotic classroom.

Houghton-Robinson was quick to utter the philosopher’s mantra of “there are no right answers”, but if he’d had one it wouldn’t have been taken seriously anyway. As he sort to outline his theory with a series of basic illustrations and loose metaphors about good and evil you could sense everyone was wishing they were watching the music drifting across from the Little London Fields festival up the road. But on he went.

We must be aware of the dark arts used by advertising, Houghton-Robinson warned before showing us a clip of the eerie child snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “So do you think advertising is a child snatcher then?” Bingo. We’d hit the jackpot. And as the rain began to sneak through the assorted umbrellas gathered above us it seemed as good a time as any to make for the exit. Houghton-Robinson looked a little downbeat as he ended the session but in truth he’d done a valiant job at sparking debate in front of an unforgiving audience.
details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman
All photography and illustration by Kerry Hyndman.

Saturday night saw the end of a series of seminars organised by Details on Request which we listed here, information pills held by a small collective of artists in East London, clinic on ‘irrelevant learning’. Hosted by ‘creative technician’ Andrew Jeremy Houghton-Robinson, it was two hours of ‘debate’ that explored the idea of how we are attracted to thing. Sold as a conversation about the effect advertising can have on us, the public, it became a messy exchange of thoughts and the Gossip Café’s charming garden was left resembling a chaotic classroom.

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman

Houghton-Robinson was quick to utter the philosopher’s mantra of “there are no right answers”, but if he’d had one it wouldn’t have been taken seriously anyway. As he sought to outline his theory with a series of basic illustrations and loose metaphors about good and evil you could sense everyone was wishing they were watching the music drifting across from the Little London Fields festival up the road. But on he went.

illustration attraction seminar by kerry hyndman

We must be aware of the dark arts used by advertising, Houghton-Robinson warned before showing us a clip of the eerie child snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “So do you think advertising is a child snatcher then?” Bingo. We’d hit the jackpot. And as the rain began to sneak through the assorted umbrellas gathered above us it seemed as good a time as any to make for the exit. Houghton-Robinson looked a little downbeat as he ended the session but in truth he’d done a valiant job at sparking debate in front of an unforgiving audience.

YouTube Preview Image

Details on Request will be running further performance and live art in the park in London Fields on Saturday 28th August. Details here.

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman
All photography and illustration by Kerry Hyndman.

Saturday night saw the end of a series of seminars on ‘irrelevant learning’ organised by Details on Request (which we listed here), case who are a small collective of artists in East London. Hosted by ‘creative technician’ Andrew Jeremy Houghton-Robinson, there it was two hours of ‘debate’ that explored the idea of how we are attracted to things. Sold as a conversation about the effect advertising can have on us, the public, it became a messy exchange of thoughts and the Gossip Café’s charming garden was left resembling a chaotic classroom.

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman

Houghton-Robinson was quick to utter the philosopher’s mantra of “there are no right answers”, but if he’d had one it wouldn’t have been taken seriously anyway. As he sought to outline his theory with a series of basic illustrations and loose metaphors about good and evil you could sense everyone was wishing they were watching the music drifting across from the Little London Fields festival up the road. But on he went.

illustration attraction seminar by kerry hyndman

We must be aware of the dark arts used by advertising, Houghton-Robinson warned before showing us a clip of the eerie child snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “So do you think advertising is a child snatcher then?” Bingo. We’d hit the jackpot. And as the rain began to sneak through the assorted umbrellas gathered above us it seemed as good a time as any to make for the exit. Houghton-Robinson looked a little downbeat as he ended the session but in truth he’d done a valiant job at sparking debate in front of an unforgiving audience.

YouTube Preview Image

Details on Request will be running further performance and live art in the park in London Fields on Saturday 28th August. Details here.

details on request attraction seminar kerry hyndman


Darwin Deez at Truck Festival. Photograph by Sabrina Morrison

It was only a matter of time before Amelia’s Magazine and Truck Festival became the firmest of friends. With circles overlapping so far and wide, check we might as well be kith and kin, generic our relationship was cemented and documented by Amelia at the Climate Camp gathering in Glastonbury (understand that Truck is kind of a generic description – the creators of Truck – the brothers Joe and Robin Bennett also play in the utterly fab Danny and The Champions Of The World) in a memorable performance where Joe played part of the gig on his back. ‘Cause that’s how he rolls.


Photographs by Sabrina Morrison


Pulled Apart By Horses perform. Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge

Truck is known for being somewhat of an anomaly; it’s a thoroughly strange hybrid of a bucolic Oxfordshire village fete, complete with a rotary club flipping burgers, a vicar serving ale and – no village fete is complete without this quintessentially English phenomena – cross dressers behind the bar, all of which serve as the surroundings to a musical line-up that is so hip, cutting edge and au courant that it makes SXSW look tame. The place was teeming with journo’s from every major publication, all of whom professed a long standing love for Truck. I had pitched up with a little crew of fellow Amelia’s Magazine colleagues and friends of mine from the band Amber States. By the time we arrived at 1pm on Saturday afternoon, the weather was glorious, the sun beating down on the 5,000 revelers who had already assumed the position of the day; lying flat on their backs (clearly taking a cue from the founder Joe). We quickly discovered that the festival was pleasingly manageable in size. Taking up no more that roughly three fields, the onus was on being able to bounce (I mean amble) from one stage to the next with the minimum of fuss.


Is Tropical in session. Photograph by Sabrina Morrison

So we quickly settled into a routine. Fuel up with a drink, and go find some music. From an extremely horizontal position I watched ex- Beta Band singer Steve Mason do a rousing Beta Band-esque set, followed by Stornoway who actually got me standing up (high praise). Although at some point I realised that that the hottest spot at Truck was by far and away The Barn, which receives the accolade from me as being The Hottest Music Venue In The World Which Also Smells Of Manure. It seemed that the rest of the festival agreed with me, and due to it’s cult like status, and the fact that the bands playing inside were off the charts, there was a constant queue to get into this converted cowshed. But I would stand in line all over again just to see this man play again.


Darwin Deez auditions for So You Think You Can Dance. Photographs by Sabrina Morrison

Mr Darwin Deez, New York hipster, sporter of the finest curls in the contemporary music scene, and creator of mid-song dance routines that even have their own narrative. My favourite bit was the dance that finished Radar Detector where his band mates engaged in what can only be described as a homage to West Side Story and the unfortunate Darwin was pushed to the floor (don’t worry, it was all part of the routine) but heroically sprang back to complete the rest of the dance/mime show. Why don’t more bands do this?
YouTube Preview Image
YouTube Video courtesy of John Pullman


Mew headlining, photograph by Sabrina Morrison

The evening was given over to watch Mew headlining. I had high hopes about this Danish group because the previous week I had been fortunate to have a long chat with Sune from The Raveonettes and he was in raptures over them. Truthfully, they were technically very impressive, but I wasn’t hooked. I think I was spoilt by watching smaller bands whilst scraping hay off of my converse in the cow shed, so this stadium-esque performance left me a little cold. Actually, I think I may have just simply been cold – it was 11pm by this point and the temperature had dropped. I wandered off to find my friends playing table football in the techno tent and concluded this very pleasant evening by not scoring a goal. Story of my life!


I got to meet the strange Truck monster; he was a bit monosyllabic but gave good hugs.

The next day was given over to more of the same thing. Naturally some lazing around had to be done. (We are not lazing in this picture, we are trying to figure out how to play the game where you lift someone up using two fingers, we didn’t succeed.)

Amber States do a collective i-phone check to find out how it’s done. Test study remains rooted to the ground.


Blood Red Shoes perform. Great live set, but inbetween song banter needs be improved; “We love sharks!” yells Laura-Mary. Photo by Caitlin Mogridge


Los Campesinos! Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge


Teenage Fanclub close Truck 13. Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge

Everyone found a band that we had previously not heard off but now had to IMMEDIATELY rush off and buy their tracks. A friend of mine was delighted by A Silent Film, which reminded her a little of The National. I really enjoyed the synth pop of Miaoux Miaoux, Sabrina discovered the joys of Egyptian Hip Hop, another mate stuck to the front of the stage while Blood Red Shoes performed and we all had a bit of a rousing moment to Los Campesinos! and Teenage Fanclub. Personally, Sunday afternoon was all about Danny and the Champions of The World. I’m not just saying that because of the aforementioned connections but simply because they put on a blinding performance. Plus you never know who you are going to get when Danny plays; later he performed a set in the little acoustic tent to a full house of little kids and was joined by the lovely Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou. Everyone clapped along to the songs – one toddler in the front helpfully kept time with the aide of his drum sticks and to me, this summed up Truck entirely; the ethos is collective, without pretension, kid friendly and all about the music, even when the music consists of two acoustic guitars, no mics and a two year old with drum sticks. Thanks again to Truck, for reminding us that this is what life is about.


Danny and Trevor Moss perform
Photograph by Rishi Mullett-Sadones

With thanks to Sabrina Morrison, Caitlin Mogridge and Rishi Mullett-Sadones for the photos.


Darwin Deez at Truck Festival. Photograph by Sabrina Morrison

It was only a matter of time before Amelia’s Magazine and Truck Festival became the firmest of friends. With circles overlapping so far and wide, thumb we might as well be kith and kin, remedy our relationship was cemented and documented by Amelia at the Climate Camp gathering in Glastonbury (understand that Truck is kind of a generic description – the creators of Truck – the brothers Joe and Robin Bennett also play in the utterly fab Danny and The Champions Of The World) in a memorable performance where Joe played part of the gig on his back. ‘Cause that’s how he rolls.


Photographs by Sabrina Morrison


Pulled Apart By Horses perform. Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge

Truck is known for being somewhat of an anomaly; it’s a thoroughly strange hybrid of a bucolic Oxfordshire village fete, healing complete with a rotary club flipping burgers, a vicar serving ale and – no village fete is complete without this quintessentially English phenomena – cross dressers behind the bar, all of which serve as the surroundings to a musical line-up that is so hip, cutting edge and au courant that it makes SXSW look tame. The place was teeming with journo’s from every major publication, all of whom professed a long standing love for Truck. I had pitched up with a little crew of fellow Amelia’s Magazine colleagues and friends of mine from the band Amber States. By the time we arrived at 1pm on Saturday afternoon, the weather was glorious, the sun beating down on the 5,000 revelers who had already assumed the position of the day; lying flat on their backs (clearly taking a cue from the founder Joe). We quickly discovered that the festival was pleasingly manageable in size. Taking up no more that roughly three fields, the onus was on being able to bounce (I mean amble) from one stage to the next with the minimum of fuss.


Is Tropical in session. Photograph by Sabrina Morrison

So we quickly settled into a routine. Fuel up with a drink, and go find some music. From an extremely horizontal position I watched ex- Beta Band singer Steve Mason do a rousing Beta Band-esque set, followed by Stornoway who actually got me standing up (high praise). Although at some point I realised that that the hottest spot at Truck was by far and away The Barn, which receives the accolade from me as being The Hottest Music Venue In The World Which Also Smells Of Manure. It seemed that the rest of the festival agreed with me, and due to it’s cult like status, and the fact that the bands playing inside were off the charts, there was a constant queue to get into this converted cowshed. But I would stand in line all over again just to see this man play again.


Darwin Deez auditions for So You Think You Can Dance. Photographs by Sabrina Morrison

Mr Darwin Deez, New York hipster, sporter of the finest curls in the contemporary music scene, and creator of mid-song dance routines that even have their own narrative. My favourite bit was the dance that finished Radar Detector where his band mates engaged in what can only be described as a homage to West Side Story and the unfortunate Darwin was pushed to the floor (don’t worry, it was all part of the routine) but heroically sprang back to complete the rest of the dance/mime show. Why don’t more bands do this?
YouTube Preview Image
YouTube Video courtesy of John Pullman


Mew headlining, photograph by Sabrina Morrison

The evening was given over to watch Mew headlining. I had high hopes about this Danish group because the previous week I had been fortunate to have a long chat with Sune from The Raveonettes and he was in raptures over them. Truthfully, they were technically very impressive, but I wasn’t hooked. I think I was spoilt by watching smaller bands whilst scraping hay off of my converse in the cow shed, so this stadium-esque performance left me a little cold. Actually, I think I may have just simply been cold – it was 11pm by this point and the temperature had dropped. I wandered off to find my friends playing table football in the techno tent and concluded this very pleasant evening by not scoring a goal. Story of my life!


I got to meet the strange Truck monster; he was a bit monosyllabic but gave good hugs.

The next day was given over to more of the same thing. Naturally some lazing around had to be done. (We are not lazing in this picture, we are trying to figure out how to play the game where you lift someone up using two fingers, we didn’t succeed.)

Amber States do a collective i-phone check to find out how it’s done. Test study remains rooted to the ground.


Blood Red Shoes perform. Great live set, but inbetween song banter needs be improved; “We love sharks!” yells Laura-Mary. Photo by Caitlin Mogridge


Los Campesinos! Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge


Teenage Fanclub close Truck 13. Photograph by Caitlin Mogridge

Everyone found a band that we had previously not heard off but now had to IMMEDIATELY rush off and buy their tracks. A friend of mine was delighted by A Silent Film, which reminded her a little of The National. I really enjoyed the synth pop of Miaoux Miaoux, Sabrina discovered the joys of Egyptian Hip Hop, another mate stuck to the front of the stage while Blood Red Shoes performed and we all had a bit of a rousing moment to Los Campesinos! and Teenage Fanclub. Personally, Sunday afternoon was all about Danny and the Champions of The World. I’m not just saying that because of the aforementioned connections but simply because they put on a blinding performance. Plus you never know who you are going to get when Danny plays; later he performed a set in the little acoustic tent to a full house of little kids and was joined by the lovely Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou. Everyone clapped along to the songs – one toddler in the front helpfully kept time with the aide of his drum sticks and to me, this summed up Truck entirely; the ethos is collective, without pretension, kid friendly and all about the music, even when the music consists of two acoustic guitars, no mics and a two year old with drum sticks. Thanks again to Truck, for reminding us that this is what life is about.


Danny and Trevor Moss perform
Photograph by Rishi Mullett-Sadones

With thanks to Sabrina Morrison, Caitlin Mogridge and Rishi Mullett-Sadones for the photos.


Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. Illustration by Patty Bowman

As I write this I’m exhausted; I’ve slept all weekend and still haven’t fully recovered from Beach Break. I’ve got an impressive tan line from my wristband that keeps distracting me. Yes, here a week in Wales really was that much fun and it really was that hot.

As festivals go, ampoule I’m not a fan of park and ride and I’m not a fan of limiting the amount of alcohol you can take into the site. Beach Break does both, doctor and it’s a massive pain in the bum. You can only take one trip from your car to the campsite. If, like me, you’re lumbered with the tent, it’s pretty hard work.

I rocked up about an hour after the gates opened with a few friends and it didn’t take us long to get into the campsite. I think we were the lucky ones – I heard stories of people waiting six hours to get in.

The first night at Beach Break is strange. The camping field is only half full and there’s not much going on. It’s a great chance to explore the site and have a catch up with your campers. The Monday at Beach Break is always just a low-key, chilled night of fun. I might have drank more than the first night’s ration of vodka and fallen into a tent full of people, but that’s just how I roll. The boys found it pretty amusing – the girls did not.

This year’s site was stunning. The beach was absolutely beautiful and everything was pretty close without worrying about sound clashes between different tents. I spent the first morning nursing my hangover on the beach, but it got too cold so I went to watch two groups of friends compete in the Gaelic Games.

The Gaelic Games are run by these guys called Bearded Kitten. They have a shocking taste in music (especially the short one) but organise a strange tournament every year that sees people, amongst other things, run an assault course in a sumo suit, jelly wrestle (when my friend got accused of groping a girl) and tug of war. The winner gets tickets to next year’s Beach Break. I’ll be honest – the team that won were so unpopular with the crowd that people were cheering competing teams on, in the desperate hope they’d get knocked out.


Silver Columns

The main stage didn’t draw much of a crowd on any day. The main stage highlights were Silver Columns, who no one really danced to but were incredible; Vampire Weekend – a band so perfect that they blew me away; and Chase and Status, whose set was as you would imagine but ten times better.

Kurran and the Wolfnotes were great live. It was a shame they didn’t have a bigger crowd – I’ve been listening to them a lot since I saw them support Lightspeed Champion. They were the band I begged all my friends to watch, and they were even better this time. One of my favourite bands of the year, easily.

The Ruskins are a band who opened the main stage on the Wednesday. I remember them from last year – they spent ages flyering, putting up stickers and persuading people to check them out. The guys told me that they played the main stage this year because at the 09 festival they had a guerrilla gig that drew about 500 people in. They’re worth checking out – I reckon they’ve got big things ahead of them in a couple of years. One ACM band that was really great live was called 10p Short – an acoustic, folk rock band that killed it at the ACM tent.


Fenech Soler

My favourite dance band of the year, Fenech-Soler, played too. They were the best daytime band by far. They’re playing pretty much every festival going so if you get the chance to watch them, you really should. They look like they’ve borrowed their girlfriends’ sequin tops when they perform. The band are so good they please the dance fans as well as the indie kids, and that’s a hard trick to pull off.

For me this year was about the dance line up. They had some incredible people play and the dance tent was rammed. Annie Mac was typically brilliant, as were Jack Beats, High Contrast, and Sub Focus. There’s not much new I can say about these guys because they’re all at the top of their game. They were as much fun as you’d expect. The only downside was Annie Mac ending her set on a Florence, because I hate the song. Everyone else in the tent loved it, though.

There weren’t many disappointments, apart from Example who had little soul in his performance. Fake Blood was the biggest let down for me. I’ve listened to the Fake Blood mini mix done for Annie Mac many times, and I expected those skills to be delivered live, but they just weren’t. The music got a bit repetitive after a while – he didn’t really mix it up at all. A couple of people performed like it was an easy pay cheque for them, which was a massive shame when others like Vampire Weekend put in masses of effort.

There were some serious flaws with the organisation, like the taps being turned off, forcing us to buy festival priced bottled water so we didn’t dehydrate; a complete lack of shade near the main stage, so I had to hide backstage so I didn’t melt; and the park and ride was a nightmare on the way home. I can’t help but feel these were teething problems caused by the fact that this was only the first year the festival was at the site.

It’s been a year since I was a student, but we had so much fun that we’ve already started talking about next year’s festival. If they can get as many good DJs and bands as they did this year, then I’ll be there.

Categories ,Annie Mac, ,Beach Break, ,Chase & Status, ,Ezra Koenig, ,Fenech Soler, ,festival, ,Lightspeed Champion’s, ,Silver Columns, ,The Ruskins, ,Vampire Weekend, ,wales

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Amelia’s Magazine | Reports of Snow: an interview with Abe Davies of Reichenbach Falls

Reichenbach Falls_Reports of Snow album_cover

Reports of Snow is the new album by Reichenbach Falls, a collective headed up by singer songwriter Abe Davies, and based out of Oxford, that ever burgeoning hub of musical creativity. The album is chock full of mellow tunes with a tinge of Americana, perfect for those long winter evenings…

Reichenbach Falls portrait

How would you describe the sound of Reports of Snow?
Reports of Snow started out as a solo acoustic record – it was going to be just me and my guitar, with maybe a little keyboard and piano, that kind of thing. But as we worked on the songs we kept thinking ‘this should be an acoustic song, for sure, but maybe with electric guitars, drums, bass, piano‘ … so not really an acoustic song at all! So once we’d decided to let the songs go wherever they wanted to go, we worked on the basis that there should be a sort of approach tying them together, to make sure it remained an album rather than just a collection of songs – every one should have the heart of a fairly simple folk song, and the listener should be able to hear that, but that from there one might go in a pop direction, another in a rock, another in a more arty direction and so on. Which is I guess a long-winded way of saying: I’d describe it as ‘experimental folk-pop-rock‘!

Reichenbach Falls by Amberin Huq

Reichenbach Falls by Amberin Huq. ‘I found whilst listening to the Reichenbach album I was reminded to cold winter mornings by the sea and absence so it was just about finding an image that reflected that feeling I had. I wanted to create something that could be quietly beautiful and quite sparse to accompany the music.’

What are the lingering themes of the album and what inspired them?
Well, I guess the lingering theme would be lost love or something like that. It’s kind of a break-up album, and though a couple of the songs are a little older (written when I was living in St Andrews in Scotland) the vast majority were written over a couple of months after moving to Oxford a couple of years ago. So whereas I think the next record will be a little more wide-ranging in terms of subject-matter, this one’s pretty single-minded. I guess every songwriter has to get a break-up album out of their system every few years, and this is ours. 

Reichenbach Falls by Emma Russell

Reichenbach Falls by Emma Russell. ‘Reichenbach Falls have an outdoorsy, Americana feel that I wanted to echo. Listening to Risky, I liked the idea of escape and the image of the Southern Cross shining.

Where are you from originally and how did you end up here?
My parents came over here from Canada for my dad to train as an actor, so weirdly enough I was born in Wales. But all our family was in Canada still, and after a few years my dad moved back, so we were always back and forth and I lived in Calgary, near the Rocky Mountains, for a while when my dad lived there too. Then I lived in Spain for six months, Norwich, Scotland for a while, now Oxford for the foreseeable … so kind of all round! I consider myself 40% English, 40% Canadian and 20% somewhere in the Atlantic, maybe a little south for warmth. 

Reichenbach Falls by Kimberly Ellen Hall

Reichenbach Falls by Kimberly Ellen Hall.

How does the ‘rotating membership’ of the band work in practice?
The rotating membership is a pain! It’s allowed us to make an album that I’m really proud of, and that I couldn’t possibly have made without the generosity and skill of all these people, but everything takes forever and is a nightmare to organise. On the other hand, I’m super lucky with the talented friends I’ve made over the last couple of years and also with the fact that to play live I don’t necessarily need anybody but me. I’m kind of at the point where if I want to do a show I’ll agree to do it solo, and then if there’s the possibility to add components I’ll see if I want to and then make some calls to if it’s going to work schedule-wise. So having that solo option takes a lot of stress out of the rotating membership. Sorry, are these answers going on forever?? I feel like they are …

Reichenbach Falls tarot shop

Is that Joe Bennett, founder of Truck Festival who you are collaborating with? how did that come about? He gets everywhere!
That is indeed Joe Bennett of Truck fame. And it came about because he’s a friend of mine and does get everywhere … He’s also an incredibly talented and fun guy who lives to play music, so that doesn’t hurt either! He’s a great guy to have around – I ended up playing Y Not Festival with Co-pilgrim, a band that he’s in, and so he joined me for a few songs. That was cool, and I’m sure won’t be the last time. 

Where was the video for Risky shot? it looks suitably depressing and grey…
That was shot in a single take in Jericho in North Oxford – coincidentally, only a few hundred yards from the studio where we made a lot of the album. It was in February, I think, so you get that washed-out light that’s beautiful but sort of sad. Ben Johnston, who conceived and directed it, is also pretty nifty with getting the look just right in post-production – there’s a video for the song Stay Home, Elizabeth that he’s in the process of making with an amazing actress from here in Oxford which is going to be really beautiful, too, I think. I’m really looking forward to seeing it myself!

Who was the dancer and what was her brief, and who is polishing the gun and where did you acquire that from?!!! Looks real…
Actually, the dancer is Breeze Murdoch, a great friend of mine who I met through her husband, Michael de Albuquerque, who co-produced, engineered and mixed the album – and that’s him with the gun at the end, which I think is actually a very realistic, powerful air-rifle. As far as I remember, her brief was to make it feel as if it were a little ‘risky’ just being outside, with all these strange, pretty, dangerous things happening. But she’s both a musician and a professional dancer, so the kind of person to whom you don’t really have to spend a lot of time explaining these things. 

Reports of Snow by Reichenbach Falls is released on 2nd December 2013 through Observatory Records.

Categories ,Abe Davies, ,album, ,Amberin Huq, ,Ben Johnston, ,Breeze Murdoch, ,Calgary, ,canada, ,Co-pilgrim, ,Cornershop, ,Elizabeth, ,Emma Russell, ,Goldrush, ,interview, ,Joe Bennett, ,Kimberly Ellen Hall, ,Little Fish, ,Michael de Albuquerque, ,Observatory Records, ,Oxford, ,Reichenbach Falls, ,Reports of Snow, ,Risky, ,Stay Home, ,Truck Festival, ,Viarosa, ,wales, ,Y Not Festival

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