Five Favourites & Video Premiere: Piney Gir – ‘The Seventh Dial’

Following acclaim for her otherworldly latest EP Alchemy Hand, and having recently shared stages with the likes of Gaz Coombes and Noel Gallagher, London based artist and self-proclaimed witch Piney Gir has now shared a magical new video for latest single ‘The Seventh Dial‘.

Having always been a little witchy, rebelling against her super strict Christian-Kansas upbringing – finding comfort in nature, connecting with creative souls and sensing different energies – she has only recently publicly defined herself as ‘a witch’. And what better way to celebrate this than to share a mystical new video. Floating with a lilting energy and resplendent grace, ‘The Seventh Dial’ oozes a majestic effervescent splendour and colourful ethereal aura as Piney’s honey-sweet vocals flow with a swirling psychedelic allure. A bewitching offering that’ll draw you into the soothing, sparking majesty of Piney Gir’s world.

To celebrate the release of ‘The Seventh Dial’, we spoke to Piney about her Five Favourites – five songs that have inspired this release the most; the witchiest tunes that she relates to and have influenced her on her magical journey. Read about her choices below and make sure you watch the beautiful new video for ‘The Seventh Dial‘ at the bottom of this feature!

This Is The Kit – ‘Moonshine Freeze’
I love this song, firstly because it has that kind of magical-mystical groove thing moving throughout the track that just keeps going like a perpetual-musical rolling-river. Lyrically she talks about the cycle of three, which is literally a reference to Neopaganism; she talks about natural order which appeals to my inner green witch. This Is The Kit will always have a special place in my heart because it’s the first gig I saw after all the Covid lockdowns. It was a show at the Barbican and masks were mandatory, only every 3rd seat was full – it was certainly a ’new normal’ at that point… It was such an emotional show, and they were the perfect band to see for that moment, my gateway back into live music. I may have had a little happy cry.

 Nina Simone – ‘I Put A Spell On You’
Nina Simone puts a spin on this classic blues song originally by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins with lush string orchestration reminiscent of Gerswhin. She smooths out the track with her bewitching, jazz-piano skills, and her voice preserves the raw energy of the original version – it has a gritty, almost other-wordly quality to it! Nina Simone walked among us, but she was not one of us, she was like a voodoo high priestess on another dimension channelling her magic that sometimes feels a little bit dangerous. 

Kate Bush – ‘Cloudbusting’
When I was a kid I used to pretend to make a witch’s potion in the garden – I’d get the biggest pot I could find and fill it with flowers and leaves, berries and twigs. I’d stir the pot and say “Drink the brew… he he he…” in my witchiest voice… One thing I used to fantasise about was having the ability to change the weather – I wanted so badly to unleash sunlight on the grey days. It’s in this song that Kate Bush fantasises about the same thing, and in this video she’s a child too! This song makes me feel more connected to her and also connected to that happy memory as a carefree witchling trying to change the weather! These lyrics say it all and I believe this to be true: “I just know that something good is gonna happen… but just saying it could even make it happen.”

Aldous Harding – ‘The Barrel’
There’s something kind of otherworldly about Aldous Harding and this song summarises her off-kilter, elegant style perfectly. Her lyrics are like poetry, so I’m not entirely sure what she’s on about, but the great thing about poetic lyrics is that they can mean whatever you want them to mean. For me, Aldous represents an outsider, and back in the day she would have definitely been burnt at the stake in Salem along with me and all my friends (she’s dressed like a Salem witch in this video!). Perhaps that scar in our matriarchal history is not something to celebrate, but it’s important that we don’t forget the suffering of the women that paved the way for women today, and it’s songs like this one that helps me find a way to honour our herstory.

The Warlocks – ‘Song For Nico’
As a believer in equal opportunity, I thought it might be nice to celebrate our brothers from another mother – The Warlocks – because not all witches identify as female, and not all warlocks are male – it’s not really about gender, it’s about equality. This song celebrates Nico, goddess of The Velvet Underground, and is a deep cut from The Warlocks second album Rise and Fall. It came out a long time ago now, but the psych-rock, reverb-drenched guitars sound timeless; Nico will always be a will-o’-the-wisp for me, and apparently she inspired The Warlocks too!

Massive thanks to Piney Gir for sharing her witchy Five Favourites with us! Watch the beautiful new video for ‘The Seventh Dial’ below:

Alchemy Hand, the latest EP from Piney Gir, is out now via Reckless Yes.

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Five Favourites: Sound Of Ceres

New York-based audiovisual project Sound of Ceres create otherworldly, immersive visuals to accompany their celestial soundscapes. With new album, Emerald Sea, shimmering dreamscapes tell the story of how the universe comes to know itself. Written in three acts, it follows two deities who trail each other through the furthest reaches of experience, featuring poignant narration from Marina Abramović throughout. A truly captivating experience that’ll enliven the senses with its majestic cinematic splendour and orchestral grandeur.

We spoke to Sound Of Ceres – vocalist, lyricist and costumer K, songwriter and producer Ryan, songwriter and musician Derrick and costumer and light designer Jacob – about the five videos that have inspired their visuals and fed into their unique, innovative ideas for Emerald Sea. Have a read about their choices below and then watch the beautifully haunting video for album track ‘Arm Of Golden Flame‘ at the bottom of this feature.

The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Tonight, Tonight’
This video, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, takes me into my own early 1900s Lumière brothers fantasy. Turn of the century times when La Fée Electricité (Loïe Fuller) wore handmade dresses, seen dancing in light projections when harnessable electricity first presented itself. The handmade set pieces, opacity fades, physical world one can immerse themselves into makes this video transportive to me.
– K

Björk – ‘Hidden Place’
The visuals for ‘Hidden Place’, directed by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin and M/M (Paris), made me realise that a music video doesn’t need a million cuts to be interesting. This is one entrancing camera shot the whole time, and has been the single biggest influence on my own video/visualiser work, which usually features a simple visual composition that moves or changes slowly over the entire length of the song.
– Ryan

Björk – ‘Isobel’
Directed by Michel Gondry, this is a synesthetic masterpiece. In my opinion, Gondry pulled off one of the most ambitious things a music video director can do: create a true visual parallel to the music that is equally dynamic and agile as their imagination. I love the surreal compositions (and visual effects) that blend nature and flowing water with Björk. I also love the black and white noir texture throughout.
– Derrick

Smoke City – ‘Underwater Love‘
Directed by Tim Macmillan and John Lynch, this is one of my favourites. The colours and contrast are perfect in a way that you can only get from actual film stock. The whole video is essentially just playing with time: a lot of delightful water shots played in reverse, and just when you start to wonder if all this backwards, Jean Cocteau-like stuff is able to carry a whole video, they throw in some really stunning, ghostly ‘time slice photography’. This video came out two years before everyone would see this method used in the first Matrix movie, and IMO, ‘Underwater Love’ uses it to much prettier effect. The whole thing is just sparkling and sexy and fun. Serious eye candy!
– Jacob

Virgina Astley – ‘Waiting To Fall’
Here, Virginia Astley performs ‘Waiting to Fall’ for an appearance on BBC2. This was filmed at the Coventry Electric Wharf in 1982, where the beautifully weightless song somehow fits perfectly into the backdrop of gleaming industrial (moving!) machinery.
– Ryan

Massive thanks to Sound Of Ceres for sharing their Five Favourites with us!

Emerald Sea, the immersive new album from Sound Of Ceres, is out now via Joyful Noise Watch the beautifully haunting video for ‘Arm Of Golden Flame’ here:

Photo Credit: Todd Eckert

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Five Favourites & Video Premiere: Junk Whale – ‘Pilebox’

Following infectious recent single ‘Happy Birthday’, Oxford band Junk Whale have now announced the release of their new EP, Caught In The Act Of Looking Weird, next month. Taken from the EP, latest single ‘Pilebox’ pays homage to being yourself in the face of adversity. Propelled by a fuzzy, emo-tinged energy and scuzzy hooks, raw impassioned vocals flow throughout as the track builds with a jangly allure to an anthemic blast of angst-driven splendour. Of the track, the band explain:

“It started as an attempt to write a song that sounded like a mashup of Pile and Jawbox (hence the title), although it ended up not really sounding like either. It’s about the joy of living life on your own terms and trying not to worry about fitting into anyone else’s expectations of you.”

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of a quirky brand new video for ‘Pilebox’ and the upcoming EP, we caught up with members of Junk Whale to ask about the music that has inspired them the most. See below for their choices of their five favourite songs, and watch the new video for ‘Pilebox’ at the bottom of this feature.

The Cribs – ‘Things You Should Be Knowing‘ (Jenny – bass/vox)
When I wrote the guitar bit that became ‘Airbed’ from the EP, I sat down and basically just tried to write a song that sounded like The Cribs. One of the reasons I was keen to join Junk Whale was I heard that Hannah & Josie were also huge Cribs fans. Needless to say, I love them. They’re so consistent in their ability to produce bangers even now, but their first album is still closest to my heart. It’s so delightfully ramshackle, and has such an infectious energy – listening to it makes me feel young and reckless again (and it makes me feel old to be writing that). It sounds like they’re having loads of fun without even having to try, as if they’re just mucking about in the garage, and even though they’re playing massive venues and festivals now, I’d still favour the ramshackle mucking about sound any day. 


Illuminati Hotties – ‘Knead’ (Ali – vox/production)
Illuminati Hotties are one of the few bands I’ve discovered recently that I’ve really connected with. This song does a really great job of balancing elements of indie rock, pop and grunge which is more or less what we’re trying to do in Junk Whale. Their lead singer, Sarah Tudzin, is a professional audio engineer and produces their songs; she does an amazing job and is a real inspiration for me.

Doe – ‘Julia Survived’ (Josie – guitar/vox)
I first saw Doe in 2016, supporting Muncie Girls in Brighton (also on the bill was another Junk Whale fave, Fresh). I left with a cassette copy of their First Four compilation, and over the next few weeks I rendered it more or less unlistenable by playing it over and over again. At that point, Hannah’s and my pre-Junk Whale band was coming to an end and we were thinking about our next project together. Somehow, Doe had managed to capture exactly the kind of music that we wanted to make. Every song on that comp is great, but ‘Julia Survived’ has always stood out to me. It has that visceral punch of emotion that I crave in music, and the overlapping vocal harmonies were definitely a big influence on our songwriting. Nicola Leel is up there with Corin Tucker from Sleater-Kinney in my “people I wish I could sing like” rankings.

Taking Back Sunday – ‘You Know How I Do’ (Hannah – guitar/vox)
I first got into Taking Back Sunday when I was in sixth form because the drummer in my band really wanted to cover ‘Cute Without the E’ and I’ve never looked back. Their first album, which this track opens, is pretty much without flaw in my eyes and I struggled to pick just one song from it. Something I really love about it is the sheer quantity of vocals; Adam Lazzara barely lets up for a second, singing over almost every section of every song, with John Nolan pitching in frequently for some really effective back-and-forth segments. I think we have a pretty different sound to Taking Back Sunday, but they’re always on my mind whenever I’m trying to structure a song, and especially when I’m writing vocal parts.

Dinosaur Jr. – ‘Little Fury Things’ (Josie – vox/guitar)
First hearing You’re Living All Over Me as a teenager was a genuinely life-changing moment. It exemplified everything I love about guitar music: heavy riffs, soaring solos, ear-scraping noise and, most of all, beautifully expressive rhythm-playing. It was the latter that had the biggest influence on my playing; messing around with different harmonies and chord combinations is my favourite thing to do with a guitar and has formed the basis of my songwriting. ‘Little Fury Things’ is the best example of this. After the pummelling drum intro and aural chaos of the opening section, the plaintive guitar and melancholy vocals of the verse completely disarm you. To me, this song is the best demonstration of the immense dynamic power of a distorted electric guitar.


Huge thanks to Junk Whale for sharing their Five Favourites with us! New EP, Caught In The Act Of Looking Weird, is set for release on 8th July via Reckless Yes. Watch the brand new video for latest single ‘Pilebox’ here:

Photo Credit: Tom Turner

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Five Favourites: Sprout

Having received acclaim for previous singles ‘(I’m Just) Getting By‘ and ‘Settled (Here In My Heart)‘, Burnley artist Meg Grooters – aka Sprout – is now set to release their debut EP tomorrow, 15th June. Flowing with lilting melodies, honey-sweet vocals and an uplifting colourful allure, Sprout’s offerings ooze a subtle reflection on life’s anxieties with a soothing, jazz-infused musicality and soulful splendour.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the release of their debut EP, we caught up with Sprout to ask about their “Five Favourites” – five albums that have inspired them the most. Read about their choices below:

h hunt- playing piano for dad
I heard this album for the first time as I was graduating from university, but it only became a soundtrack of my everyday at the start of the pandemic in 2020. I played at least a song from it almost every day that year. I think back on when I’d be having my one cycle a day around the park nearby, not being sure if the world was going to make it, and somehow still feeling really comforted by this album. It really soothed my anxieties at the time and gave me a space to feel all of the contrasting, messy feelings that came with both the fear and stillness of the start of the pandemic. I love so much hearing his fingers hitting the keys, him talking to himself, or the pauses to figure out what he’s playing whilst he’s playing it. It’s so intimately recorded – it was done in one take, and originally made as a Christmas gift for his Dad. I really like how it highlights the things that would typically be viewed as ‘mistakes’ in music recording, and makes them earnest and heartfelt. This album really made me want to create music in that way too. I’m guessing it wasn’t intentional but I think it’s probably the most beautiful representation of uncertainty I’ve ever heard; and not to be too dramatic, but I love it to death.

Joni Mitchell- Blue
I mean, it’s a very famous album for a reason! Picking just one Joni album was a pain but it wasn’t really possible for me to talk about her and not talk about the first album to ever metaphorically tear my heart out of my chest and leave it on the floor. A lot of my favourite albums stem from the music my mum brought me up on and my memories of being a kid, and Joni is up there as being one of the most influential on my music making. When I was 16, my mum got all of her old vinyls down and gave me this album, along with a bunch of others (Kate Bush, Billie Holiday, loads of good ones, well done mum). I put this on first as I started to revise. I remember being alone in my room, putting the books down and listening to the whole thing back to back, just lying there. I don’t think I’d ever listened to lyrics so intently before and I still listen to it every break-up and have a cathartic weep. I love it more so for the fact that the first time I heard it was on the same record my mum had listened to it as a teen/twenty something too. That’s generational sad-medicine passed on! Joni is a master of poetry and beautiful singing and songwriting and this album depicts that entirely and that’s that really.

Eliza – A Real Romantic
I love this album so much – it’s so hot, and I feel like I heard this album for the first time and finally felt like an adult. When this album came out I couldn’t believed this was the same Eliza Doolittle pop queen from my high school years and that’s in part what I love about it so much. Hearing the transformation of who she was then when with a major label, to now – making these RnB smokey demos – is really cool and refreshing. It also lyrically comes with an ethos of re-invention, and self-invention, that I can really subscribe to. The songs are all dead groovy and the production is yummy and I just like singing along to it and having a solo bop in my room. It doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard, it’s not trying to be something new for the sake of being something new, and instead is just really nice and easy to listen to. I love how spacious it feels as an album, and I love how it takes its time. It feels really focused on pleasure and love and escapism, and it makes me want to have a bubble bath and light lots of candles and order three desserts and wear lots of silk, and that’s fun!

Sidney Bechet – Les Années Bechet
When it comes down to it, I’m just a child from the ’90s heavily influenced and somewhat indoctrinated from the many problematic 2000s romantic movie tropes of love and coming of age. Put that on top of my passion for the golden era musicals, and at the core of me is a big cheeseball who wants to be a bit cringe and romanticise their life. So, if you’re gonna do it, I’d say do it to this album. It’s a timeless classic and has seen me through many a sombre night walking home, and many an introspective bus journey. Life looks a bit nicer when you’re listening to this album and listening to it is like having a warm, long-lasting hug for the ears. Aside from that, Sidney Bechet is an outrageously brilliant clarinettist and soprano sax player, and sometimes you just don’t need to look any further than the best work of the legends. I love music for the way it relates to memories and its ability to transport you to a different time and place in your life, and nothing sparks up nostalgia quite like this one. Even the smallest encounter with a stranger could feel romantic after listening to this, and why shouldn’t the mundane moments in life get to feel a bit more lovely too?

Harry Nilsson – The Point!
This album is an experience! So fun, full of wonder, and better listened to with the film (at least first time round). A friend at university showed this to me in my second year when I was having a particularly difficult day and I instantly fell in love with the story, the imagery and the music. It follows the story of a boy called Oblio, who is the only round-headed person in a village where everyone and everything must have a point. It’s all very cute and endearing and metaphorical, and the sort of thing I would’ve loved as a child and find myself recommending to people a lot. When I’m particularly low, I can put this on and things are always a bit lighter afterwards. The music and orchestration is really playful and bouncy and it reminds of all the wacky kids shows that were knocking around when I was younger. It’s simply adorable, with a beautiful tale of finding the acceptance of feeling and being different to others. Very tender.

Massive thanks to Sprout for sharing their Five Favourites with us! Listen to their latest single ‘Come Back (To What Can Be)’ below:

The debut self-titled EP from Sprout is set for release tomorrow, 15th June, via sevenfoursevensix.

Photo Credit: Marieke Macklon

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