FIVE FAVOURITES: CRONICLE

Swedish artist CRONICLE may have cut her teeth playing in punk-pop band Tantrum to Blind, but now she’s exploring her song-writing talent through the medium of brooding electronica. CRONICLE (aka Melanie Mohlkert) has shared three singles to date, with her most recent offering ‘Bruises’ focusing on the aftermath of a relationship.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a new artist is by asking them what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with CRONICLE to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below, and make sure you listen to her track ‘Bruises’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Taking Back Sunday – Where You Want To Be
Taking Back Sunday is the band I still call my favourite band of all time. It’s kind of funny actually, because the first time I heard one of their songs I was like “What the hell is this noise?” but I was 13 years old and my (really cool) cousin who’s just one year older than me was super into them, so I was intrigued.

Then diving into their music opened up a whole new world for me. I was already a big fan of bands like Nirvana, The Offspring, Millencolin and Good Charlotte, but these guys were just something else. Their angsty and raw vocals with intense, emotional lyrics that literally have no filter at all, backed with sick guitar riffs and energetic drums just made me FEEL so much. It was like an amplifier to your heart and soul at that age and to be honest, it still is. I love this band so much. I feel like their way of phrasing what you want to say in lyrics, their guitar riffs and emotion will always be one of the core pedestals in me as a songwriter. Being able to show how you can be hurt and vulnerable with your music but at the same time saying “f*ck you” is definitely something they taught me about, and I’m forever grateful for that.

2. Ellie Goulding – Halcyon Days
This album is f*cking incredible. I actually can’t remember when I came across it first, I think it might have been that I fell in love with Ellie’s song ‘Figure 8’ and after that, checked out the whole album and damn, I couldn’t stop listening to it. It definitely was my first proper introduction to the electronic pop world and those kind of soundscapes. I think there are parts of this album that are pretty similar to the whole emo alternative rock elements I’m so in love with. To be honest ‘Figure 8’ would make a sick emo rock song, but here the electric guitars are kind of replaced with heavy synthesisers instead. I think that’s what I fell for. I also love, love, love the vocal production, how her voice is often used as an instrument. Then there are these rough organic sounding instrumentals, mixed with amazing electronic sounds. Ellie has generally really inspired me and been a big role model as the badass female solo artist that she is. I’m not a huge fan of the direction she’s taken musically over the last few years, but she’ll always have place in my heart.

3. K.Flay – Life As A Dog
I think it was in 2014, when my band had split up and I started getting really into electronic music that some friends of mine sent me a link to K.Flay’s tunes. They had just been doing Warped Tour in the US and got to know her because she was playing the festival too. They were like “Mel you’re gonna LOVE this chick” and oh my, they were right. I was hooked by the first synth that hit my ears in ‘Make Me Fade’ and K.Flay’s amazing whisky voice, smart, full of attitude lyrics and awesome beats. There’s also some electric guitars and bass, cutting through the production here and there and it’s simply a mix of everything I love.

The fact that she’s this awesome smart rapper just makes her pretty much royalty to me. Her Majesty K.Flay – the Queen of everything. I was at her first ever London show when she supported Lights and nobody really knew who she was. I had brought some friends with me who really dug her too after my passionate introduction and we were in the back of the room, jumping and singing along to her set. Her manager caught our little private party in the crowd and had to come up and ask how we knew about her. Then the craziest thing of this story here is that I actually got to support her when she had her first headline show in London and that was my first ever Cronicle show!

4. Twenty One Pilots – Blurry Face
I remember seeing ads on YouTube for their music videos and I thought to myself that there was just something really cool and real about them. After checking out the album I was a fan for life. I feel like I’ve always been really drawn to artists who are genuine and speak the truth in their music and these guys definitely do that. They also know how to write BANGERS. This is my “pick me up” album. It’s the one that I turn on loud as f*ck in the morning to get me going, to get my mood right for the day. I also love driving (read speeding) and skating to it. They are incredible musicians, performers and Tyler’s lyrics are just something else.

I will forever regret that I missed Reading Festival a couple of years ago when they played it. I was sat home behind my laptop watching their set online and even just through the 13” screen their show was absolutely mind-blowing. I also really respect how much hard work they’ve put into their career in terms of playing shows, touring so much of the world before they “made it”. They’re the real deal and I’m stoked to see how huge they are today, it gives hope to someone like me.

5. Lana Del Rey – Born To Die
What can I say, how can you not love this album? Lana is an incredible songwriter and she really knows how to drag you into her world and turn you into an addict. This album is the soundtrack to my summers spent broken hearted and lost. It made them more beautiful somehow. I’m so captivated by her voice and lyrics and again, the production is a mix of organic instruments and electronic elements – my favourite thing. Lana is sharing sadness and pain in a proud way and there’s just something so empowering about that. I feel proud to be a woman with a broken heart not afraid to share my deepest pain because of her.

Thanks to Melanie for sharing her favourites with us!Follow CRONICLE on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Five Favourites: jade imagine

Fresh from a tour with fellow emerging Australian artist, Julia Jacklin, and with their forthcoming first album coming later this year, Melbourne trio jade imagine have recently shared their latest single ‘Big Old House’. A captivatingly gloomy slice of shoegaze-inspired guitar pop, it’s a shimmering offering that leaves us eagerly awaiting the upcoming album…

We think one of the best ways to get to know a new band/artist is by asking them what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Jade to talk about her ‘Five Favourites’ – five albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques, or simply take her back to a specific feeling or time. Check out her choices below, and make sure you watch the band’s new video for ‘Big Old House’ at the end of this post.

The Church – Of Skins And Heart
This album is a huge nostalgia trip for me. When I was a kid, it was one of my first introductions into music… I’m not entirely sure if it was a hugely ground breaking record or not (I’ve never really thought about it), but i feel like in some way this album encapsulates a lot of the elements that I bring into my own music; I’ve always loved The Church’s chord progressions and the way their guitars weave together melody and the way the drums are pretty straight and punchy/punk-y, and the way the bass leaves space and punctuates the song. The Church create create these really interesting songs, but deliver them in a kind of dead-pan way. There’s some strange kind of glam vibe in there, but also a sense of ‘Australiana drama’ kind of thing going on. Fave track’s gotta be a tie between ‘Bel-Air’ and ‘Is This Where You Live’.

Ty Segall – Sleeper
I’m a sucker for a good old folk acoustic guitar album. Though I’m a big fan of all of Segall’s heavier work, for some reason this record really stuck out to me. Maybe it was the headspace I was in when I first heard it. I was travelling a lot and would put this on to chill myself out whilst on long flights. So, I associate it with movement and security. Ironically, I have read that this was written by Ty when he was going through a rough patch, which just proves to me that music can 100% be interpreted uniquely by everyone in a different way. I like how some of his songs are seemingly ‘nonsense’ songs, but there feels to me to be a deeper meaning behind them, even if that meaning is still a vague interpretation on my behalf…

Cat Power – You Are Free
Just a great vibe album. A good mix of loud and up, and quiet and down… 

Sibylle Baier – Colour Green
Sometimes when I’m not managing my anxiety very well, this album can totally help to chill me out and slow my brain down. I believe Baier’s son compiled these songs – which she’d recorded in the 1970s – and then the album was released in 2006 after it was passed on to J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jnr who passed it on to Orange Twin, a record label. I just love how you can hear the faint ambient room sounds throughout the album; the creaking of a chair in the background, the air in the room. I just wish this album was the whole soundtrack to my life.

Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
I came across this record when I was in my mid teens and lived in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. I lived on a property with my family and uncle and all of his sheep and dogs and pets. I used to go on long walks in the bush around the area with my walkman, listening to this record over and over again. I think this album really shaped the music that I like these days and helped me to love the more understated albums in the world. They’re growers – albums you come back to over and over again throughout your life.  

Huge thanks to Jade for sharing her five favourites. Check out jade imagine’s new video for ‘Big Old House’ below:

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Gurr

After the recent release of their new EP She Says, German duo Gurr have been busy touring and making plans for the rest of 2019. The new songs are a poignant observation on the world’s indifference to the opinions of others. We caught up with bandmates Laura Lee & Andreya Casablanca to talk about their “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced their own songwriting. Check out their choices below, and take note of their upcoming tour dates at the end of this post!

LAURA

1. Oasis – What’s the Story Morning Glory
It’s not only my favorite album, I think it’s also the best second album of all time. To top a debut album with a second album like this – including songs like Champagne ‘Supernova’ – just deserves all my respect.

2. Ulrika Spacek – The Album Paranoia
It really amazed me how few people know about this band: Very crafty sounds, amazing recordings, seems like they have great artistic integrity as a band… I really wish they were more famous and also don’t at the same time.

3. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
After my Oasis obsession, Deerhunter and especially Halcyon Digest were the first band to really pick me up again and get me excited about current music. So thanks for that!

4. Carole King – Tapestry
I found out about Carole King way too late in my life. Also BECAUSE SHE NEVER MAKES THESE KINDS OF BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIMES LISTS and I really don’t understand why.

5. The Sound – Jeopardy
Maybe I would say this is the greatest album of all time (to me). It’s just pure perfection to me, the compilation of songs, the order, … everything!

ANDREYA

1. Le Tigre – Feminist Sweepstakes
This is the first album that I heard a more experimental approach to music with adding synth and random stuff. I was so into Le Tigre and their aesthetic, I listened to this album from top to end in my teenage bedroom at night.

2. Sonic Youth – Goo
I used to go to the record store and just try to learn indie music history by listening through records – this record was a little hard for me to grasp but it opened a weird world of eerie vibes and “anything goes” and it totally made me feel like I am special back then haha.

3. Be your own Pet – Be your own Pet
I rarely listen to BYOP anymore but I DEVOURED this album and it basically shaped so much of my songwriting as a teen- that it can just be weird and repetitive chord progressions, loud and noisy, confusing lyrics and high energy. Jemina Pearl and Karen O were definitely my icons back then.

4. Avril Lavigne – Let Go
This album is brilliant. So many good pop songs that I can still sing along to today even though I don’t want to?

5. Supergrass – I should Coco
I actually don’t know why I loved and love this album so much but I listened to it a lot and especially enjoyed the squeeky voices- “She’s so loose” made me jam on open dissonant chords for DAYS. Love it.

Gurr Tour Dates 2019
14.06.2019 – GER Mannheim – Maifield Derby
18.06.2019 – USA Brooklyn – Rough Trade (in-store showcase, duo performance)
19.06.2019 – USA New York City – Rockwood Hall w/ Surfbort
21.06.2019 – GER Scheeßel – Hurricane Festival
22.06.2019 – GER Neuhausen ob Eck, DE – Southside Festival
30.06.2019 – GER Paderborn, DE – Wintergrün Festival
13.07.2019 – HU Banki-to Bank – Bankito Festival
26.07.2019 – GER Eltville am Rhein – Heimspiel Knyphausen
27.07.2019 – UK Oxfordshire, UK – Truck Festival
02.08.2019 – AT Lustenau – Szene Open Air Lustenau
03.08.2019 – CH Olten – Olten Open Air
09.08.2019 – GER Rees – Haldern Pop Festival
10.08.2019 – GER Konigs Wusterhausen – Bergfunk
31.08.2019 – GER Stade – Müssen Alle Mit
11.10.2019 – UK London – The Lexington
13.10.2019 – GER Düsseldorf – New Fall Festival

Thanks to Laura & Andreya for sharing their favourite with us. Follow Gurr on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Grace Savage

Grace Savage is a four-time UK beat-box champion turned electro-pop artist. With her ability to produce catchy beats and write witty relatable lyrical content, her live shows are an impressive spectacle; and her performance at Loud Women Festival last year made a mark in our musical memory. She’s set to release her new EP Cracks on 17th May and will pre-empt the launch with a headline show at Bermondsey Social Club on 15th May (tickets available here).

We caught up with Grace to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that have influenced her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below, and make sure you listen to her single ‘Snowflake’ at the end of this post.

Amy Winehouse – Frank
I heard this album for the first time when I was 14, hanging out in my friend’s bedroom. I instantly fell in love and knew this woman was something special. The tone of her voice, the sensitivity and intelligence of the lyrics, the infectious melodies..I didn’t know much about music technically at the time, but I just felt the soul of this album to my core and I still listen to it today as much as I did back then.

I learned the song ‘Fuck Me Pumps’ on the guitar and it was the first song I ever sang in front of another human being. It was a producer who’d seen me beatbox in a talent competition, and then invited me to her studio; she asked me to sing something for her and I was absolutely terrified. I sang Amy’s song and she must’ve seen something in me because we then worked together as a songwriting partnership for four years. So this album will always have a special place in my heart.

P!nk – Can’t Take Me Home
I cannot even begin to explain the level of obsession I had with P!nk as a young girl. Posters on the bedroom wall, dyed my hair pink at 13, got my tongue pierced at 15, my email address for most of my teenage years was pink_b!tch@hotmail.com – it was a LOT. She was this bad ass lady with bright pink hair and so much attitude and I just wanted to be everything she was. She was a great role model for me as a young girl who didn’t fit in with the ”girly girls” and this album (although when I listen to it now sounds SO dated) was a big part of my teenage years. I’ve followed her career ever since and I’m seeing her live for the first time this summer….I think I might explode with nostalgia and happiness.

Nirvana – Nevermind
This album inspired me to learn the guitar. I went through the classic “grunge girl” stage for about a year (black nails, big nose ring, nirvana hoodies, eye liner, really bad skate boarding) and it was all heavily influenced by this album and Kurt Cobain’s genius. I was always such a hip hop head/r&b and pop music girl, but something about Nirvana really got me. The guitar riffs, the husky tone of his voice, the weird lyrics and the “don’t give a f***” attitude of the whole band was really refreshing against the shiny manufactured pop bands I was exposed to in the 90’s and early 00’s. This album introduced me to a different kind of music and really let me indulge my emo side.

Ms Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
Ahhh it was so close between Lauryn and Missy Elliot because both had a huge impact on me growing up, but seeing as this is about ALBUMS and not ARTISTS… I had to choose this one. I remember I was about 14/15 and my mate said he bought this album and didn’t like it so he gave it to me to try. I’m so glad he did, because BOOYYY it is ICONIC! I fell in love with her voice watching Sister Act and I fell in love with this album the moment I heard it. Triple threat: singer, rapper, writer. There were really no other artists around like her at the time and her voice is unparalleled in my opinion. I still can’t think of anyone who sings, writes and raps as fluently and excellently as she does. She is one of a kind. I saw her perform the 20 year anniversary of this album in London last year and it was a beautiful experience.

BANKS – Goddess
This is the only “modern” album on my list but no less impactful and meaningful to my life. This is my break up album. I must have listened to it and cried to it and ran to it and danced to it and slept to it and then cried some more to it almost every day for about a year. When it came out, the production was like nothing I’d ever heard before and her lyrics and tone were so unique and dark and sexy, I was immediately like “WOAH” who is this girl? I’ve seen her live a few times now and she never fails to disappoint. ‘Waiting Game’ and ‘Brain’ still continue to be some of my favourite songs in existence – the slow driving kick drum, the long builds throughout the whole song, the deep driving synths and the tribal feel to her vocals drenched in reverb. Beaut. Thanks for getting me over the worst break up of my life. I owe you one BANKS!

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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