Introducing Interview: Æ Mak

Æ MAK‘s otherworldly soundscapes and creative visuals are utterly bewitching, making them one of GIHE’s current faves.

Having played festivals such as Electric Picnic and Liverpool Sound City, and supported big names such as Warpaint, Django Django and Tune-Yards, Æ MAK are now back with new single ‘Love Flush’; another truly captivating, genre-defying creation.

We caught up with front-woman Aoife McCann to talk influences, live shows and gender imbalance in the music industry…

A huge welcome to Get In Her Ears! We’re big fans of yours, so firstly we want to just say keep doing what you’re doing!
Ah, thanks guys!

Can you tell us a bit about how Æ Mak came to its current formation in 2018?
Last summer myself and Daniel McIntyre started collaborating. He’d been playing synth in the band for a while. He’s an amazing producer and song-writer in his own right. We discovered a unique creative spark between us that’s really worked. With each new tune we create we get more and more excited about the sound we’re honing. ‘Love Flush’ is the second single we’ve created and released out of this partnership. For recording and our live set-up we’ve two beautiful drummers who’ve been a core part of Æ MAK since the very beginning: Peter Kelly and Dylan Povey.

And you are still based in Ireland?
We’re based in Dublin. I live in Carlingford where I do most of my song-writing, it’s real beautiful there. Sea and mountains galore. Dan has a gorgeous home in Stillorgan where all of the songs are produced, so we’re happy creating in Ireland. It works for us. It’s home!

We’re loving your latest single ‘Love Flush’ at GIHE HQ, can you tell us a bit more about what inspired this?
What’s happened a lot over the past year when writing is that, in hindsight with a bit of time away from it, I realise what the song is really about and where my head was at at the time. ‘Love Flush’ is basically a twisted love song, steeped in ego. At the time it was inspired by a need to self-protect and create a world where I’m solely a strong ambitious individual. I AM all I need.

Your music has already been likened to the beginnings of Bjork and the electronically enchanting Fever Ray – are you happy with these comparisons?
Yeah, myself and Dan are chuffed, especially with the likes of Fever Ray. We’re massive fans of The Knife too. Before we started collaborating I came to Dan with references of The Knife’s and Little Dragon’s synth sounds, beat sounds, electronic music with a darker pop vibe; a sound that resonates with the vision I have as a performing artist.

It seems that the artwork and visuals that accompany your track are integral to the overall piece, would you agree with this? Do you see yourselves as performance artists as well as musicians?
Definitely. I started Æ MAK, started song-writing, so I could be a performing artist. The artwork and visuals go hand in hand with and embody each song, reflect the colourful, visceral visual concepts I get from or before the music is created. It enhances the music and lets it live in its fullest form. Gives it its own world to breath in.

We’ve seen you talk about gender imbalance in the music industry, specifically being the first act chosen for Festival Republic’s ReBalanced programme – congratulations! This is a new initiative that will address the gender imbalance in the music industry, can you tell us firstly what your thoughts are on this, and what this initiative will be doing?
Thank you! We were ecstatic to have been chosen for the programme and they’ve been brilliant over the past 6 months, giving us guidance and some amazing opportunities. Festival Republic and PRS Foundation are using their resources and position within the music industry to enhance and push the professional careers of female composers, bands, engineers and artists. ReBalance offers studio time with professional female producers in the U.K, festival republic slots and introductions to labels, management companies, booking agents. They help you find your people. They offer a supportive platform basically – what you do with it is up to you and what your goals are. I think it’s a brilliant initiative. It champions women in music at a time of positive change and growth in gender equality. Women represent only 16% of UK composers and songwriters and there’s a scarcity of females in other roles across the industry as well.

What do you think other people in the music industry and fans can do to help push this movement forward?
Just keep listening, promoting, booking, representing the music you love and are excited about. I wouldn’t want to be chosen for something for the sole fact that I’m a woman, but on the merit of the songs and music I make. I think the mindset that men rule the music industry is fading. Great music is great music and it should stop there regardless of gender. The ReBalance programme is promoting talented and forwarded thinking female writers and performers which is fantastic. PRS Foundation have launched its International Keychange initiative, which aims to improve greater equality in festival line-ups. 50/50 male and female bands and artists by 2022. This is coming from the best of places and with good intentions. However, it’s so important that we focus on the quality and unique authenticity of art being created, not simply which gender created it. Personally I think there’s a risk of it becoming patronising and degrading. The opposite of the intended effect.

It’s great to see you playing so many different festivals and gigs! You recently played the beautiful Latitude Festival, how did you find it? Did you take a dip in the pond?
Latitude is beautiful. Really cool festival. Don’t think we’ve ever been treated so well at a festival before. We played the Sunrise Arena on Sunday afternoon to a massive crowd of hungover, enthusiastic heads. Didn’t take a dip in the pond unfortunately. It was the last show of our stint in London, so we got to chill and see some of our favourite bands – Wolf Alice and Alt-J. Amazing.

How’re you finding the most recent tour that you are on? It must be quite the experience
being ferried around in a van during this insanely hot summer??
A nice van would be luxury. Planes, trains and automobiles over here. The heat is crazy. Burn, peel, white, repeat.

How would you describe your live show?
High energy. Emotive. I hope it creates a separate world that the audience can escape into and lose themselves. A space where they think ‘this is odd’, I’m odd too.

You’ve supported some great acts like Warpaint, Tune-Yards and Django Django – have you had a favourite so far?
Tune-Yards. They are amazing and the nicest people. I’d been a massive fan from early on so getting to chat with Merrill about music was very very surreal and fuzzy. The Nikki Nack album massively influenced me as a songwriter when it came out in 2014. Inspired me to create freely without the restraint of what I thought a pop song ‘should be’ and find that primitive rhythm we all have deep down in our core. We were chuffed to have been given the opportunity.

Finally as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
We’re big fans of Wastefellow, he produced a few of the earlier Æ MAK songs. He’s a brilliant experimental electronic producer. I’m also loving Mongoose at the moment, an Irish indie folk band. Check them out!

Huge thanks to Æ Mak for answering our questions!

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Video Premiere: Lauren Ray – ‘Be A Man’

Following debut album We Will Need Courage in 2016, singer songwriter Lauren Ray has supported big names such as Rebecca Ferguson and Anastacia and has now returned with the announcement of her new EP Inside This Silence. 

Taken from the EP, new single ‘Be A Man’ flows with Ray’s silky smooth, soulful vocals and gentle, blues-infused melodies in a tongue-in-cheek take on the common phrase. A truly charming, musically rich slice of alt-pop, it showcases Ray’s beautifully honest songwriting perfectly.

Of the clever accompanying video and meaning behind the song, Ray explains:

“The song could just be enjoyed as a fun ‘flirty’ song which is part of its intention… but it’s written somewhat tongue in cheek because I’m using the term ‘Be A Man’ to say ‘you can be vulnerable and say how you feel because I feel it too’. Admitting how you feel to someone requires being brave and vulnerable but is always worth doing… I also think that personality traits and emotions that are labelled as either ‘female’ or ‘male’ can be somewhat ridiculous and limiting, and in some cases destructive, so I wanted to play with this a little bit too for the video.”

Watch the brand new video for ‘Be A Man’, for the first time, here:

Inside This Silence, the upcoming EP from Lauren Ray, is out 3rd August on SR Records. Pre-order here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

 

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INTERVIEW: White Ring

Cult followers of the “witch house” movement will be familiar with industrial outfit WHITE RING, who are set to release their new album Gate Of Grief via Rocket Girl Records on July 27th. After an eight year hiatus, the band have returned and are ready to bewitch their fans with more of their corrosive sounds. We caught up with Adina & Bryan to ask them about their recent gig in London and their upcoming album…

You recently played a free gig at The Shacklewell Arms. Did you enjoy the show? What did you get up to whilst you were in London, aside from supporting God Is An Astronaut?
We had a great time playing shows again. We were really busy doing press stuff between shows. We didn’t do much.

Your stage presence is pretty intense – do you have any pre-gig rituals that help you prepare for your set?
We usually do some meditation, stretch and pray to our ancestors for good luck, very important.

You formed on Myspace and helped to develop the “witch house” movement, which dedicated fans keep track of online. Do you think the internet is crucial when it comes to forming a band, nurturing a scene, and sharing your music?
It’s definitely a blessing not having to be physically connected to any particular city’s music scene, but the pendulum also swings the other way too, and can make some people really locked in on what others are doing, and I think it’s making them lonely.

Your new album, Gate Of Grief, probes at difficult and uncomfortable territory. What are you most proud of about this record?
I’m proud that it’s done and that we are all still alive.

Do you have a favourite track? If so, why?
I really do love how this album functions more like the albums I grew up listening to – where track selection and placement are kept in mind. If I had to pick one it would probably ‘Do U Love Me 2?’ just because I don’t remember writing it. I woke up after crashing from a 3 day bender in like 2012 and found this 11 minute song that I vaguely remember working on. I just made it a non-offensive length and released it as is. I feel like that one found me.

The image of the gate in the title refers to the real gate between Africa and Saudi Arabia, which is believed to be the place where the first humans migrated and went on to populate the rest of the world. How do you take a concept like that and turn it in to densely electronic music? Do you have a process that you follow, or do you create each song differently?
We came up with the concept when putting together our first EP, Black Earth That Made Me. The only idea we have for WHITE RING is to keep changing. We like too much shit to get weighed down with any one ideology. We kind of just want to tell a story that helps people realize they are not alone. Trying to tell a story about struggling to survive. We have had 6-8 different setups for recording. As soon as we get comfortable with something we get rid of it.

As we’re a new music blog, we always ask bands what other new bands or artists they’ve been listening too. Who can you recommend to us?
I’ve just been listening to a lot of The Soft Moon, John Maus and Korn lately.

What are your plans for the rest of 2018?
We just started recording our next EP, touring the album and we are working on launching a manufacturing company.

Finally, if you weren’t creating music as White Ring, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I would be making music in my room doing a job that I don’t like as much!

Thanks to WHITE RING for answering our questions!
Pre-order Gate Of Grief here.
Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Jason PD

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Introducing Interview: Delhia de France

Electronica artist Delhia de France has just released her debut EP, Morai. We caught up with Delhia de France to talk about the release, the inspiration behind the name (Greek goddesses of fate representing divine feminine power), fossil waterfalls and so much more…

Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about how you got started as an artist?
Hi Ladies thanks for having me! The music was always there: I had piano lessons at age 7, wrote my first song at 10 and had classical singing lessons at 15 which was when I also started my first band – a hiphop project with 2 Mc’s, a DJ and me. I went on to study design to have a possible alternative until I realised that I didn’t want any plan b.

You are described as a ccollaborator, producer, songwriter and visual performer – do you feel you identify more strongly with one particular creative arm, or do all these aspects of your life influence the other?
I´d say music is definitely the core but I love to express myself in any way I feel.  Ultimately I am interested in creating a whole world, a gesamtkunstwerk if you will. And yes they definitely influence each other, like, when I write I always see images with it or I write from an image.

You are originally from East Berlin, what was it like growing up there in the ’90s after the wall came down?
Well, I was very little and of course didn’t realize what that meant at the time but in retrospective I think the vibe was feeling free on one hand but also very confusing and insecure on the other hand ’cause nobody really knew what was going to happen…  The millennium for me was a wild time, growing up between all these subcultures of hiphop, techno and drum and bass. Nobody really cared we were just having fun.

I read that you completely lost your voice at 17, starting therapy to try and recover it? That must have had an incredible impact on you both physically, emotionally and creatively?
Oh definitely, I thought I would never be able to sing again. You feel helpless surrendering to your body. On the other side it was a chance to learn how to be careful with myself, my body and my mind. A lot of it was fear. I believe that most of our illnesses are deeply rooted within our mind, manifested pain in a way.

We’re loving your latest single ‘Waterfalls’ at GIHE HQ, can you tell us a bit more about what inspired this?
When I write I mostly write on in sounds. I would come up with something completely different if I´d play chords on a piano than on a certain synth. With waterfalls the sound felt so watery and the word waterfalls popped pretty quickly while Lester and me where Jamming, and then I just followed that image.  I had recently visited a fossil waterfall and the deep canyons of water and sanded silky stone were such a strong picture – incredible force yet such gentle form. I guess that inspired the song.

And the single is part of your upcoming EP Moirai set for release ‪on 13th July, how would you describe the themes of this record?
The Sound of the EP is electronic but warm and organic, yet dark and melancholic. I guess thats just something I am really drawn to. I like playing with textures and vocal layers and Robot adds his magic with his signature hypnotic beats and baselines. We both love detailed and rich sounds. The visual theme evolves around the Moirai, the three goddess sisters from Ancient Greek, weaving mankind’s destiny. I have always admired greek philosophy and mythology. I like how it is explaining mundane concepts with divine intention and I think thats not only beautiful but consolidating in a world striving for meaning and being obsessed with the material.

The EP was made in collaboration with Grammy winner Lester Mendez and Robot Koch, how did you find the creative process working with such renowned people?
I wrote all tracks together with Robot Koch except for waterfalls, which we wrote together with Lester. Robot and me have been working together for a while but I think this project has been quite challenging for both of us as I would also be co-producing most of the songs.  I am blessed to be able to work with someone who gives me so much freedom and encourages me to go down my own path.  Writing with Lester has been equally amazing, he is the most humble and kind person. His studio is full with synths and instruments, so we would take bits and pieces from digital and analogue gear, record sounds on his modular and Robot even played drums. Both Robot and Lester work very fast which was a bit hard at times for me as I would need my time to retreat to writing the lyrics… mixing especially is quite a difficult process for me, which Robot and I did together.

Throughout your music career you’ve collaborated with numerous people, do you have a particular project that you are most proud of?
One of the highlights definitely was playing with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and the Stueba Philharmonie together with my band project Pentatones. Also when Sony used the song I made with Robot Koch and Savannah Jo Lack for their worldwide ad campaign.

What are the differences between the music scenes in Berlin and LA?
I think Berlin in general has bit of rawer, darker vibe and you can feel that in the music.  It’s much more electronic dance music oriented which makes sense given the dark winter months here. Total opposite to the eternal sunshine of LA which mirrors in a rather positive and warm sound I think.

As a visual performer, can you tell us what can fans could expect from your live music shows? 
I want people to enter a different world for a bit and I am now shaping that world. It probably will be very stripped down at first but for the future I envision a raza immersive and performative live show.

More importantly are you planning on coming to the UK anytime soon??
Definitely wanna play the UK, but nothing concrete yet. Stay tuned!

Finally as we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
I’m lucky to be surrounded by some amazingly talented people, especially women. My LA friend Drum&Lace has just released two beautiful ambient songs, RYAT, also from LA, who has already released on Flying Lotus label… Brainfeeder will drop some unreleased material in the summer and another close collaborator, violinist Savannah Jo Lack will release her neoclassical debut in Autumn… And if you haven’t heard yet about Perera Elsewhere from Berlin you should definitely check out her trippy doomfolk productions.

Morai, the debut EP from Delhia De France, is out now via Trees and Cyborgs.

 

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