FIVE FAVOURITES: Velvet Volume

Sibling trio Velvet Volume have turned a DIY attitude and the power of sisterhood in to riotous sounds reminiscent of Veruca Salt, The Donnas and Sleater-Kinney. Comprised of twins Noa (guitar) and Naomi (bass), drummer sister Nataja, the Denmark-based band released their debut album Look Look Look! back in 2017 to crticial acclaim in their homeland, and are set to re-release the record via Nettwerk internationally. 

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is to ask them what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with the Velvet Volume sisters to ask them about their “Five Favourites” – five songs which have influenced their songwriting techniques. Check out their choices below, and make sure you watch the video for their track ‘Pretty In Black’ at the end of this post.

Last Shadow Puppets – ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’
Nataja:​ I always get very emotional when I hear this song. I almost always play it when we sit in the tour-bus, it sets the mood when we have been driving through Switzerland. The composition of this song is absolutely perfect, and I adore the way they manage to use such romantic strings alongside such extreme western guitar sounds. I don’t think that anybody can pull off such a sound, mixing so many different moods and genres together. Which is why I have so much respect for their songwriting skills, and I always try to pull it into our own songwriting process.

Grace Jones – ‘Walking In The Rain’
Noa: Grace Jones is one of the most important artists in my development as an artist. I remember watching her for the first time on Vh1, performing ‘walking in the rain’, wearing a dark suit illuminated by a spotlight. I was so persuaded by her energy and character and how she almost appeared like an alien-like creature. She had so much power and confidence that it almost confused her audience. I had never seen a female artist like that before! And then I just really started digging her whole career as a musical artist, actor, and model.

David Bowie – ‘Starman’
Nataja: Again, a professor in brilliant songwriting. Starman is one of my all-time favorite songs, mostly because it has the best chorus ever written… Period. In general, we actually have a saying, that comes from some of the more “epic” Bowie songs which we call “higher than life – feeling”. Especially on songs like ‘Heroes’ and ‘Space Oddity’. It’s the very emotional and sad but at the same time, happy and uplifting feeling you get when you listen to it. It’s is the “everything is sad right now, but it’s gonna be alright” – feeling, hahah… if you don’t get it, then just listen to the songs, and the feeling you get is THE “higher than life – feeling”. And it’s something we’re trying to incorporate into some of our own songs. It could be cool to give people that same feeling by listening to our songs.

The White Stripes – ‘Blue Orchid’
Naomi: I remember when my father played The White Stripes for me as a little kid, and I immediately fell in love with the energy and the power of just two instruments. It blew my mind! It was a huge inspiration for me. To experience how you can make two instruments sound like many, and make the music sound big, but yet minimalistic at the same time! I loved Jacks simple and powerful riffs like this one in Blue Orchid, and I definitely wanted to write riffs like that as well!

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood – ‘Some Velvet Morning’
Noa: okay the whole album is just a true masterpiece. But especially this song. It really captures the thing I love the most about the album. The very romantic and dreamy/dramatic vibe, in the lyrics and the grandeur compositions, – and then the very traditional female/masculine dividing in the melody and the responding/conversation between them, which we use a lot in our own songs. I really like to use both the masculine and feminine side, which kind of symbolizes the fact that we all carry both around in oneself, and we use it in both singing and playing our instruments!

Thanks to Velvet Volume for sharing their favourite songs with us! Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Daniel Aude

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Premiere: Salvation Jayne – ‘Jayne Doe’

Having exploded into our ears with previous singles ‘Burn It Down’ and ‘Cortez’, alt-rockers Salvation Jayne have now shared a riotous new single.

Inspired by feelings of loneliness, ‘Jayne Doe’ is propelled by immense, thrashing beats and a gritty, whirring scuzz as the raw, impassioned vocals of Chess Smith rage. Fuelled by a frenzied energy and catchy hooks, it builds to a ferocious climax, creating a blazing rock anthem, showcasing the driving power of the band’s live shows.

Listen to ‘Jayne Doe’, for the first time, here:

‘Jayne Doe’ is out 26th July.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Introducing Interview: KTG

Set to release her debut album in September, Irish singer-songwriter Katie Gallagher, aka KTG, combines delicate folk-inspired vocals with sunny, uplifting pop-tinged melodies. Sure to captivate the ears with her feel-good offerings, she stands out as a definite one to watch.

We caught up with Katie to find out more…

Hi KTG , welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Thank you so much for having me, I really appreciate the time! My name is Katie Gallagher, but I perform under KTG. I am a 22 year old singer-songwriter from Longford, Ireland. I have been writing since I was very young and always used songwriting as a music therapy of sorts. I have been performing professionally for four years, touring all of Ireland and some dates in the UK. I am also a newly qualified music teacher, so my life literally revolves around music performance and creation. 

How did you initially start creating music?
I was never good at sports – it was actually embarrassing how bad I was, so my family always encouraged me to find another outlet, and from the age of five I played the piano and the guitar from the age of ten. I used to be obsessed with journaling and having diaries but found them really unproductive, but when I started the shift to songwriting I saw that it was a really good way to deal with the experiences I was going through, good and bad. It was also really good for reminding myself of different experiences. For example, every time I play one of my songs ‘Get Your Story Straight’, even though it is about a negative experience, infidelity, I get this rush of self confidence.  

Your new album Searching For Magpies is out in September – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the album?
I am so excited to release Searching For Magpies! The whole album was recorded by David Virgin, Rohan Healy and Al Quiff from Beardfire Studios, the label I am also signed to. The album relates to the old wives’ tale about magpies: one for sorrow, two for joy etc. Each line in the rhyme relates to one song on the album. I wanted to use the magpie theme because I am personally obsessed with magpies, and always try to find a pair of them! But also there are four songs that are linked together in a separate saga in the album: ‘Strawberries’ – the first part of the relationship and the saga, ‘Get Your Story Straight’ – things are going wrong and you need to walk away, ‘Don’t Tell My Mother’ – this song is all about second chances and going back with a naive idea that things will get better, ‘Lost Boy’ – abandon ship and realise you cannot possibly fix the situation. Other themes include love, escapism and anxiety. 


You’ve been compared to the likes of KT Tunstall and Wallis Bird, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Well, first off it is an honour to be even in the same sentence as these musicians – I hope I live up to this comparison! Being a music teacher I have to be educated in lots of different genres and styles, and I think that has come through in my music. I adore One Republic, they are a huge inspiration of mine. Also Lewis Capaldi, Taylor Swift, Gabrielle Aplin, George Ezra, but also The Black Keys, Paramore, Dolly Parton, Stormzy, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. My Spotify profile looks like five different people run it when really I try to find influences from all artists! 

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
The Irish music scene on a whole is booming with opportunity to see gigs, but also be a part of one. The Midlands, where I am from, have a host of festivals, gigs and give so many opportunities to young musicians to perform their music. I love to go to listen to live music, in all capacities; whether it be an intimate gig, or a stadium concert, the live performance is so important to me. It’s all well and good to listen to the music in your car or at a party, but nothing beats the live experience! 

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
They can expect to sing along, jump, dance and leave without any voice! I really live for the high energy gigs and try to make sure that I give an experience that I want to have at a gig. There is nothing better than saying “will you sing with me?” and the crowd respond and scream your lyrics back to you! 

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
There are so many I could recommend: Dean Maywood, Grainne Fahy, Maria McCormack, Aidan Laird. There is also Evans Junior who is killing the rap game at the moment! 

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
I would say that it is difficult to stand out from the crowd, but the music industry is very welcoming – you just have to be prepared to work hard. No musician can come into this industry and expect the fame and fortune to just fall into your lap. And, as long as the industry will have me, I will be working as hard as I can!

Finally, what does the rest of 2019 have in store for KTG?
I have my next single, ‘Strawberries’, out on the 26th July, and the final summer single ‘Never Go Home’ out on 23rd August. The album is out on the 26th September, and with that I have a nationwide tour, and we are currently trying to have some gigs abroad, but that will all be announced very soon. And, with any luck, this writer’s block of mine will go away and I can get back to write more songs! 

Huge thanks to Katie for answering our questions! 

Searching For Magpies, the upcoming album from KTG, is out 26th September via Beardfire Music.

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Emma Frank

Toying with themes of love, lust, self-doubt, commitment and sadness; New York based songwriter Emma Frank is set to release her new album Come Back on 6th September. After spending time studying literature at McGill University in Montreal and performing vocals & brass with art-pop ensembles She’s Got a Habit and Malcolm Sailor’s Songs – she returned to Brooklyn to write more of her own music, having recently signed to Justin Time/Nettwerk Music Group.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is to ask them what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Emma to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below, and make sure you watch the video for her track ‘I Thought’ (directed by visual artist Ay Tsalithaba) at the end of this post.

 

1. Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
I’ve always loved singers – singers where the music was happening but you could fully believe in every word the singer was saying. I grew up mainly on Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, and then a little bit of Simon and Garfunkel. Towards the end of high school, and for all of college, I found Lauryn Hill and I listened to this record on repeat. The tone of her voice, the way she uses it – Lauryn Hill’s voice was just utter perfection to me and I tried so hard to sound like her (I couldn’t really, without trying too hard.). And that album. The production on those songs. The songs themselves. My sixteen year old self that had just gotten broken up with for the first time really needed all of these songs.

2. Hanne Hukkelberg – Little Things
This album came to me during a very lonely period when I was either nineteen or twenty and just blew my mind. To me, it was such a complete sound universe, that cast a very dark Montreal winter in a magical new light. I grew up doing musical theater so I was accustomed to lyrics and music pairing up to tell a story and advance some action. I really loved how Hanne built her compositions so that the musical changes reflect the lyrical story in a really playful, immersive way and how she used found sounds and objects as instruments. Her song ‘Balloon’ is told from the perspective of someone holding onto a balloon and floating high above the world, and uses the squeak of a blown up balloon throughout. The narrator eventually let’s go of the balloon and as she falls, what had been a more contained song expands into a lush, dreamlike fall. Or ‘True Love’ which alternates between free, almost demented sounding improvisation, and very beautiful, romantic, gestures.

3. Bernice – Puff: In the Air Without a Shape
These guys are so good and this album is so fun. Robin Dann has an approach to songwriting and singing that I find really calming. It feels cerebral in the best ways, and also really embodied and relaxed. Each person in this band is so talented and does all sorts of amazing things, but this project is especially great. I really love how they all come from improvisatory backgrounds, and it’s clear in how they interact, and also in this very wide but specific sound palette. Also they’re all besties and really silly and funny and smart. They’ve created a unique and immersive sound world that’s really nice to hang out in.

4. Tawk Tomahawk – Hiatus Kaiyote
A friend recommended this album to me right before I went on cruise ships as a lounge singer for six months when I was 24. It was the absolute strangest experience, and this album really helped me have a joyous, grounded space to escape to. I listened to it for the first time in Hawaii – we were doing a cruise around Hawaii before we went to Alaska. I’m from Boston and I had never been to Hawaii before. I’m so used to all of these cool greys and blues, some green, but mostly colors are muted. Hawaii was so vibrant. I just remember listening to this record while running underneath these brilliant magenta flowers with the ocean to the right of me. That’s how this record sounds to me. Just so lush and alive.

5. Andy Shauf – The Party
Each song is such a good complete story. And then the whole album paints such an empathetic portrait of a few different, interconnected characters at this one party. Sonically, it honestly reminds me of The Beatles, these beautifully orchestrated, fun songs, but then with these aching, sometimes very uncomfortable lyrics. Also, Andy Shauf plays all the instruments on it, so I am also blown away by it on that level.

Thanks to Emma for sharing her favourites with us! Follow Emma Frank on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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