EP: Eliza Shaddad – ‘Sept – Dec’

Ringing in 2020, Scottish-Sudanese singer Eliza Shaddad releases her new EP Sept-Dec. The songs focus on different forms of connection with other people, dealing with sex, normalcy, and friendship. 

Opener, ‘One Last Embrace’, is a grungy and atmospheric exploration of the swirling emotions of desire. The chorus and scratchy guitars surge throughout the song to a powerful crescendo like “a tidal wave, pulling me asunder”. 

‘Same As You’ has a lighter, dream-pop sound, featuring chiming guitar and layered vocals. The mood is bitter-sweet, capturing the nostalgia of a craving a connection between two people, despite their differences. In a similar vein, ‘Girls’ explores the memories of a close female friendship, both good and bad. The song builds slowly before the sound fills out to an emotional chorus – “I know you’re lying when you say you’re alright”. We get a sense of someone or something breaking down. 

There is much to cherish in this EP; a collection of confessional songs which allow a connection with the listener through a sense of shared experience, delivered through the lens of late ’80s/ early ’90s-inspired guitar pop. 

Sept ~ Dec is due for release on 24th January 2020. Eliza is currently on tour supporting Keane, see all the details here.

Fi Ni Aicead
@gotnomoniker

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Five Favourites: MEI

South London-based vocalist, bassist and producer MEI, is on our radar. MEI recently released her double a-side project ‘No Dim Lights’, the second installment in her Antonio Vivaldi-inspired seasonal trilogy. The project expresses the “fight to not give up, even on my gloomy days, my light still shines and nothing can dim it.”

We asked MEI to name her ‘Five Favourites’ – five artists or albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques, and we let her chuck an extra one too! Check out her choices below, and make sure you give ‘No Dim Lights’ a listen out now.

Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
This album really changed my life. I studied it like it was a school project! I learnt so much about singing, songwriting and rapping from it, and it was the first time I’d heard all three be done so incredibly well. She definitely put the fire inside me to rap as well as sing, and it wasn’t until years later I actually had the confidence to do it. The honesty in every lyric also made it impossible not to connect to it. The album really had a profound impact on me personally and my songwriting.

Coldplay – Parachutes
I still remember clearly hearing ‘Trouble’ on the radio for the first time and feeling such a strong wave of emotion. I don’t think I even took in the lyrics because I was too young but sonically it was just so moving. When I revisited the album in my teens I was so gripped by how talkative they were and how they hit you so deep. The chord progressions too!

Laura Mvula – ‘Show Me Love’
I truly believe this is outstanding songwriting. It inspires me so much. It’s so honest and tragically beautiful. Wow. The vocal is mesmerising, you feel every word and the arrangement tears you apart and brings you back again. I wish I wrote it.

Ms Dynamite- ‘Dy-Na-Mi-Tee’
I absolutely love this song. I’ll never forget feeling so empowered by it. Here was a young black girl from London being herself all over my TV screen and I loved it! She was so unique and unapologetic and always bringing a positive message to her music, which was so inspiring to me.

Ebo Taylor – ‘Love and Death’
This song takes me straight back to my childhood! Growing up in a Ghanaian household meant I got to hear a lot of highlife and afrobeat music. Especially at family parties; you would have all the old school high life playing in the background and I’d never know any of the titles or artist names. I loved the horn line on this tune so much, so when I rediscovered it a few years ago I was so happy! I also loved the concept of a sad song that made you want to dance. The polyrhythms in highlife and afrobeat music really inspires my production.

Kendrick Lamar – ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’
Kendrick is definitely one of my favourite artists of the last decade.

Massive thanks to MEI for sharing her Five (or six!) Favourites with us. Listen to ‘No Dim Lights’ below.

Follow MEI on Twitter for more updates.

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Get In Her Ears: Ones To Watch 2020 (16.01.20)

At the fresh new time of 7-9pm, Tash served up a strong playlist of GIHE’s ‘Ones to Watch’ for 2020. Highlights include: Hinako Omori, Pongo, Greentea Peng, Hurtling, LibraLibra and Jemma Freeman & the Cosmic Something.

Listen back here:

Tracklist
Garbage – I Think I’m Paranoid
Pongo – Canto
Greentea Peng – Sane
Sea Change – Stepping Out
Peaness – Kaizen
The Big Moon – Barcelona
Summer Camp – Women in Love
PVA – Divine Intervention
Nayana Iz – how we do
Gold Baby – Philadelphia
ARXX – Moments At A Time
Tamesis – Cosmic Heat
Big Joanie – Fall Asleep
Laulia – Outcast Kids
Yacht – Blue on Blue
Ella Winter – Burnt
Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something – Helen Is A Reptile
LibraLibra – Loverboy
Hinako Omori – Bank Of Inner Criticisms
Otta – Small Hours
Lucy Gooch – Calm Down
FKA Twigs – Cellophane
Tasha Angela – Undescribable Feeling
Hurtling – Summer
Lauren Alex Hooper – Clarity
Texas – Drawing Crazy Patterns

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Track Of The Day: Petrol Girls – ‘Monstrous’

​”This is not all of me / I choose the parts you see” reveals Petrol Girls‘ vocalist Ren Aldridge in the opening lyrics to the band’s latest track, ‘Monstrous’. Stretched over visceral riffs and piston-like percussion, Ren’s lyrics compliment the single’s accompanying video (filmed by Martyna Wisniewska), which shows Ren and her band mates sharing intimate moments both on, and off stage during their tours with Refused, Thrice and La Dispute.

Ren articulately explains the feelings that inspired ‘Monstrous’: “(The track) is about feeling mined and drained and too much and not enough and, ultimately, monstrous. It’s also about how I sometimes feel on stage or on social media. Sometimes I find fronting a feminist band too much pressure from too many different directions.” Whilst Ren’s insecurities are laid bare here, with the band’s cathartic backdrop of noisy guitar and knockout drumming, ‘Monstrous’ feels like a lesson in spine-strengthening self awareness.

Petrol Girls are currently on their UK tour, and are set to headline Oslo in Hackney tonight (16th Jan – event details here). The band will then head to Scotland and Ireland later this month, before heading off to play European shows in February. They’ll also be visiting North America for the first time, where they’ll be playing SXSW and New Colossus later this year. 2020 looks set to be another successful year for these feminist punks.

Watch the video for ‘Monstrous’ below and follow Petrol Girls on Facebook for more updates.

Petrol Girls UK & Ireland Tour Dates 2020
Jan 16: LONDON @ Oslo
Jan 17: NOTTINGHAM @ The Bodega
Jan 18: MANCHESTER @ The Deaf Institute
Jan 19: GLASGOW @ Nice & Sleazy
Jan 21: BELFAST @ McHughs
Jan 22: DUBLIN @ Whelan’s
Jan 23: LIMERICK @ Kasbah Social Club​

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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