LISTEN: GIHE on Soho Radio with Seraphina Simone 19.10.22

Tash and Kate were back on Soho Radio’s airwaves playing loads of new music from some of their favourite female, non-binary and LGBTQIA+ artists and Mari offered some of her “musical musings” too. They enthused about the eclectic mix of tracks on the playlist, with Kate finally admitting to Tash that she listened to one of her (many) previous new music recommendations: the excellent Alewya.

They were joined by Seraphina Simone live in the studio for a catch up too. Seraphina shared the inspiration behind the tracks that form her latest EP, Milk Teeth, the joy and confidence she’s experienced whilst recording and touring as part of SELF ESTEEM’s band, and she spoke about her excitement for her upcoming performance at Paper Dress Vintage for the Great Escape Festival’s ‘First Fifty’ showcase.

Listen back below:

 

Tracklist
Alanis Morissette – All I Really Want
Sleater-Kinney, Courtney Barnett – Words and Guitar
070 Shake – Cocoon
Alewya – Let Go
Softcult – One Of a Million
Brutus – What Have We Done
Jon Hopkins, Kelly Lee Owens, Sultan + Shepard, Jerro – To Feel Again/Trois
Sonnee – Leave The Water Still
Teri Gender Bender – Saturn Sex
Miss Grit – Like You
Helen Ganya – young girls never die
Jockstrap – Greatest Hits
Sudan Archives – Selfish Soul
Ma Rainey – Prove it On Me Blues
Seraphina Simone – Milk Teeth
**Interview with Seraphina Simone**
Sylvie – Too Much Time To Think
Midwife – Sickworld
DEWEY – Another Woman
The Hyena Kill – Dare to Swim (ft. Stefanie Mannaerts)
Jemma Freeman & The Cosmic Something – Easy Peeler
Ghost Car – Selfish, Spoiled
Maria Uzor – Solitaire
Roller Derby – Only You
Tomberlin – Happy Accident
NAMELESS TWIN – My Eyes Went Black
Bikini Kill – Rebel Girl

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LIVE: Midwife – Cafe Oto, London 18.10.22

“I have a few more songs to play before I release you from this sauna,” joked Madeline Johnston aka Midwife to her sold out crowd at East London’s Cafe Oto on Tuesday night. Armed with her guitar, a pedal board, headphones and her customised telephone mic, she delivered a disarming collection of shiver-inducing sounds for her London live debut, the full extent of which were felt despite the high temperature of the room.

Opening with the beautifully bleak ‘Colorado’ which set the tone for the rest of the gig, Midwife’s evocative, deceptively simple lyrical motifs and guitar loops were entirely hypnotic. Her congregation of listeners were attentive to her considered sounds from the moment she took to the stage, to the point where the noise of ice clinking in a glass felt amplified to the volume of a cymbal smash. Watching the New Mexico-based musician’s considered performance felt like a privileged form of voyeurism.

Fans were granted permission to enter her dream-like melancholy world, in which introverted tendencies and unrequited yearnings blur and clash with the urgent desire to find connection and understanding. Musing into her telephone mic with her soft vocals, it felt like Midwife was in dialogue with an unknown person at the end of the line, the distance between them simultaneously expanded and minimised as she sang into the receiver in front of a room of silent strangers.

Whilst it’s difficult to pick set highlights, tracks from her 2020 album Forever seemed to resonate strongly with the crowd. The tender nature of ‘Language’, the brooding, murky tones of ‘S.W.I.M.’ and the cutting ‘2018’ all left their mark, as well as the poignant opening track on her most recent record Luminol, ‘God Is a Cop’. Pausing to take a picture before her final song – the ambient ‘Sickworld’ –  Midwife left her listeners on a pensive, transient note, encapsulated in the lyric: “I’m not here to stay / I’m just passing through”, before breaking the spell by moving to the merch stand to sell t-shirts and vinyl.

Midwife’s London debut was an understated, intensely memorable affair, heightened by the crowd’s willingness to provide her with their undivided, and much deserved attention.

Follow Midwife on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Cam Smith

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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Track Of The Day: WOLFS – ‘Take Me On’

An antagonistic anthem fuelled by driving beats and grungy guitar riffs, London-based duo WOLFS have shared their latest single ‘Take Me On’. Inspired by the need to reject the frustrating misconceptions that others often project on to us, the track is a riotous call to arms, full of cathartic vocals and defiant lyrics, urging listeners to persevere in the face of adversity,

Formed of drummer Rhi, and guitarist and vocalist Hannah, WOLFS were initially a four piece who formed via the Gumtree website. Just a few days before the band were set to record their first EP however, two of the members left, so Rhi and Hannah continued as a two-piece and have been making music together ever since. Despite living over one hundred miles apart for the first few years, the pair somehow made the band work, and both eventually moved to London after cutting their teeth on the Oxford and Reading live music scenes.

This resilient beginning has clearly shaped the duo’s sound and tenacious attitude to songwriting, something which their current single ‘Take Me On’ is brimming with. “‘Take Me On’ is a song that channels the frustrations of sexism and the people who underestimate you, which I think everyone can relate to in some way,” the band explain. The track is accompanied by a monochrome video, filmed at Glasshouse Studios in Oxford, which shows the pair performing live in the studio.

Watch the video for ‘Take Me On’ below.

Follow WOLFS on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Wise Up – ‘Conjure The Feeling’

Fueled by their desire to make music that’s fun to play and that connects with their listeners, Dublin-based trio Wise Up have shared their debut single ‘Conjure The Feeling’. Full of grungy riffs, snaking bass lines and clear vocals, the track is an infectious offering of alternative noise, encouraging listeners to “embrace it all”, let go and stop sweating the small stuff.

Formed of Aoife from Dublin on drums, Garry from Cork on guitar and vocals, and Courtney from Canada on vocals and bass, Wise Up have been jamming and recording together since March 2022. After performing together at Gary & Courtney’s wedding reception, the trio decided to take Wise Up’s sound out into the “dodgy clubs” of Ireland, impressing their crowds of “drunk lads who who stay out late on a Wednesday night.”

Citing Pixies, Pavement, Yard Act, Chastity Belt, Courtney Barnett and Big Thief as their main musical influences, the band are motivated by the need to cut loose and enjoy the songs they’re performing, rather than agonising over being cool or counting the number of heads in the room. Wise Up are busy working on new recordings at Camelot Studios in Dublin, and will be booking more gigs around the city in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for more info from them soon.

Listen to ‘Conjure The Feeling’ below.

 

Follow Wise Up on Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: @paulmaxwellphotography

Kate Crudgington
@kcbobcut

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