FIVE FAVOURITES: Ailbhe Reddy

A raw and relatable record about existing in the emotional ether at the end of a relationship, Dublin-born artist Ailbhe Reddy’s upcoming third album, KISS BIG, is a wholehearted affair that continues to spotlight her talent for empathetic songwriting. Set for release on 30th January via Don Giovanni Records, across nine tracks she dismantles the cyclical nature of love and the ways in which we persist and resist, but ultimately succumb to romance once again when the breakup cycle is complete.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Ailbhe to ask about her “Five Favourites” and she picked five albums by an eclectic range of artists who have inspired her songwriting techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to watch the official video for Ailbhe’s latest single ‘That Girl’ too…

 

1. Fiona Apple – When The Pawn…
I heard this for the first time when I was working an office job in my early twenties. ‘Paper Bag’ came on the radio and I felt like it was written just for me. I was immediately hooked. I went and bought the album that same day and spent months obsessed with it. I, of course, went through Apple’s entire back catalogue and was so inspired by her as an artist and individual. The production, lyrics and vocal delivery still blow me away every listen.

2. Julia Jacklin – Crushing
After I recorded my first album, I got a lot of comparisons to Julia Jacklin (what a compliment!) but I had never heard her. ‘Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You’ came on while I was driving in my car one day and it destroyed me! I pulled over and put the whole album on and listened from start to finish. What a journey. So simple. So perfect. I’ve been a fan ever since and think she’s one of the best songwriters around.

3. Jeff Buckley – Grace
This is a formative one for me. I learned a lot about playing guitar from a book of music from this album. I definitely spent a long time shoehorning nice jazz chords into my songs as a result. I was a kid when I first heard this album — my mum had a copy in her car that she used to listen to. It wasn’t until I started playing guitar that I started really listening to the songwriting properly. By then YouTube existed and I spent hours finding every single video I could of Jeff playing the songs from this album. I got to sing a few songs from this album at a show celebrating the 30 year anniversary of this album a while back, and it gave me a whole new appreciation for his vocal performance.

4. Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
I saw the dance/musical version of this in New York City two years ago and cried my little eyes out. Not just because it was beautifully performed, but because no album reminds me of the pure love I had for music as a teenager as well as this album. When I was 15 or 16 I got a little 8-track and recorded my own version of ‘Chicago’ on it. Still, whenever I hear that song it brings me back to that time. Pure love and awe and discovery. The song itself is rich with imagery and feels like a full novel, and my own memories on top always make it a joyful listen.

5. Big Thief – Capacity
‘Mythological Beauty’ was my introduction to Big Thief, I heard it playing in a friend’s kitchen and was immediately grabbed by it. There was something so mesmerising about Lenker’s vocal delivery and also the lyrics are pretty daaamn perfect. Again – it feels like a novel in a song. How can someone sum up their mother? Such a complex, deep relationship. Yet, she nails it. I got to see the album live in Dublin and was blown away by the band live which kicked off my journey as a long time fan. ‘Mary’ is another song from that album that I think is spectacular, and part of its charm is how different it is from the rest of the band’s discography. I’ve seen it a few times live in different iterations and it’s always been so special.

Thanks to Ailbhe for sharing her favourites with us!

Ailbhe will be playing a London headline show at The Lexington on 21st April to celebrate the release of KISS BIG – tickets are on sale now!

Watch the video for her latest single ‘That Girl’ below.

Follow Ailbhe Reddy: website, bandcamp, TIDAL, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Su Mustecaplioglu

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

FIVE FAVOURITES: Charlotte Spiral

Informed by personal loss, the need for escapism and intense self-refection, London-based dark-pop duo Charlotte Spiral are preparing to release their upcoming EP, New Light, on 9th April. Co-produced by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey (Kae Tempest, Bat For Lashes, Sia) the band’s latest offering was recorded both remotely and in-person over the last year in and out of lockdown, an experience which heightened the EP’s themes of connection and isolation.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Charlotte Spiral’s Amy Spencer to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – five songs that have inspired the band’s song-writing techniques. Check out her choices below and scroll down to listen to a live rendition of Charlotte Spiral’s latest single ‘New Light’ at the end of this post.

1. Laura Marling – ‘Fortune’
I’ve been listening to Laura Marling since I was in high school. I used to play guitar and sing and I was very inspired by her, especially as she was so young and already releasing records. I hadn’t heard of many singer-songwriters who were that young, and who also felt like they were doing something true to themselves.

Until her latest album Song For Our Daughter came out at the start of the first lockdown, I hadn’t listened to her for quite a while, but it became my lockdown soundtrack and continues to be on repeat. This song is one of the highlights from the record – it’s so elegant and it reminds me of ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles. I love the lyrics, in particular, the line “better off measured in coffee and wine” and the subtle arrangement of Laura’s vocal, guitar and strings. I also love that the record is written to a fictional daughter, it’s very poetic, and I’m always drawn to records that have an underlying theme throughout.

2. Rufus Wainwright – ‘Memphis Skyline’
Avi Barath (the other half of Charlotte Spiral) introduced me to Rufus Wainwright when we were at Goldsmiths University. I’d always known of his music, but I’d never properly listened to his records. When Avi and I went to Tel Aviv a few years ago, we had this song on repeat driving around in the boiling weather.

It’s a gorgeous song, the arrangement is unbelievably beautiful and it gradually builds to an epic ending. It was written about Jeff Buckley after he died. Rufus’ music is a mix of ballads, musical theatre and classical, which I think we have tried to capture within our music. The way the piano and vocal parts work together in this track in particular is an inspiration for us, and we have some new music coming out later this year, which I think feels especially influenced by Rufus’ sound. He’s a true hero of mine and one of our main references for the project. I think both of his albums, Want One and Want Two are beautiful, but this song is pretty much perfection!

3. This Mortal Coil – ‘Song To The Siren’
This track is a cover, originally by Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley’s dad. I was recommended to listen to this song by my singing teacher when I was at Goldsmiths, she wanted me to try and embody some of Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal tone. I’ve always tried to sing this song the way she does and apply it to my sound, but it’s almost impossible because her voice is so unusual and unique. The way she sings here is with so much vibrato! It’s such a sad song, but she completely makes it her own. I think everything Elizabeth Fraser does is wonderful and I’ve always been inspired by her music, from the Cocteau Twins to her work with Yann Tiersen and Massive Attack. She has such an ethereal voice and her song-writing is one of a kind. A huge inspiration for me.

4. Moses Sumney – ‘Don’t Bother Calling’
I discovered Moses Sumney when he released his first record Aromantisism in 2017. I’d have it on repeat whilst I was working. Throughout the album, the focus is on his vocals, whether it’s his lead vocal or layers of harmonies and that’s something I’ve always loved to do throughout my music. I remember when we went to record our track ‘Wide Eyed’ from our first EP Ideal Life with Dan Carey, and he suggested Moses Sumney as a reference. This made me even more excited about working with Dan! ‘Don’t Bother Calling’ feels like a bittersweet kind of song, so dreamy and melancholy, but at the same time catchy – the perfect mix! And Moses’ falsetto is just incredible and his music is otherworldly. The lyric “the world is a wonderland scene” is beautiful.

5. Audrey Hepburn – ‘Moon River’
‘Moon River’ has got to be one of my favourite songs of all time. I love the film and book Breakfast At Tiffany’s, but it’s the song that I truly love. If anyone asks me to sing something, I’ll sing this! Just after I graduated I was a nanny and I’d sing it to the baby I looked after every day. She started singing it too at some point! It’s so graceful and understated.

I love the strings at the end of the track and the line “my huckleberry friend / moon river and me,” always gets me. I’m definitely a pretty cynical person, but I’ve got some romance in me too, and this song is that bit of romance in me. I think you can hear this romantic, rose-tinted vision touching some of our music. ‘Moon River’ is a timeless song, and that’s something we try to capture throughout our Charlotte Spiral releases. I’ll try and sneak this into one of our shows one day, whether Avi likes it or not!

Thanks to Amy for sharing her favourites with us.
Watch the video for Charlotte Spiral’s single ‘New Light’ below.

Follow Charlotte Spiral on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Facebook & Instagram

Photo Credit: Barbora Mrazkova

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

FIVE FAVOURITES: Ilgen-Nur

If Hamburg-based “Slackerqueen” Ilgen-Nur had listened to the doubts instilled in her mind by the petty comments of her male teenage counterparts, she wouldn’t be preparing to release her debut album Power Nap on 30th August via her own label Power Nap Records. “If some stupid boys…hadn’t given me the feeling that I had nothing on my plate, I would have knocked something out four or five years ago at the age of 18/19” she recounts, “It took me so long to rebuild my self-confidence”.

But that’s exactly what she’s done, having released an EP titled No Emotions in 2017, playing slots at The Great Escape Festival, Eurosonic and Spot Festival, and even having her song ’17’ chosen for Netflix series How to Sell Drugs online (fast).

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Ilgen-Nur 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 brand new track ‘Nothing Surprises Me’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Kate Nash – Made of Bricks
This album is probably the reason why I’m writing music. Made of Bricks by Kate Nash was the first album I purchased that wasn’t something that was considered “mainstream” or some sort of music I got to know through TV or the radio. Actually, my sister recommended it to me after hearing the song ‘Foundations’ which I feel like to this day is an iconic indie song for an entire generation. I was immediately drawn to the story-telling songwriting and I remember listening to this album over and over again for years and years (starting when I was 11) and just getting obsessed over the lyrics, remembering every single lyric and getting lost in the characters Kate Nash was singing about. For example, ‘Mariella’ — I even have a reference to that song in my own song ‘Cool’! I remember practicing the songs on my piano over and over again and spending endless hours watching Kate Nash interviews. After all, she was my first proper role model and I am more than thankful for that. Through her, I discovered bands like Nirvana and Hole and Bikini Kill. Kate Nash taught me that I don’t have to be professional in playing an instrument to create something that I like, which I cherish to this day. And oh ‘Nicest Thing’ is still a classic to cry to!

2. Hole – Live Through This
When I first started getting into Hole, I read an interview with Courtney Love in which she said “I want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar and start screaming” — I believe that this statement was the ultimate reason why I asked my parents to get me an electric guitar for my 16th birthday. I started playing a bunch of Hole songs on guitar which was super fun and to this day, I love playing ‘Miss World’ on guitar. It’s so simple, yet so energetic. Ultimately, after watching all these videos of Courtney Love perform and re-watching all these dark and dreamy Hole music videos I felt like for the first time in my life I was allowed to scream and be angry at the world. It felt, and still feels liberating to this day. Obviously at the beginning of my Hole fandom I didn’t really get what most songs were about, yet later re-connected and understood the themes of sexual abuse, trauma and feeling angry and empty. It’s a powerful album to me, and it’s also probably one of my favorite artworks.

3. Elliott Smith – Either/Or
This one I have only discovered a year ago or so. Whilst hanging out at my bassists place ‘Between the Bars’ came on and I was drawn to it immediately. My guitarist and roommate had Either/Or on vinyl and I couldn’t stop listening to it, I put it on almost every morning for months, got completely sad and lost in all the songs. I was surprised that it literally took me this long to discover Elliott Smith, but I’m also thankful and excited about it. I’m very drawn to his guitar sound and the overlapping of vocals and the general lo-fi sound. I actually once got asked if the title of my first EP No Emotions is linked to Elliott Smith’s song ‘Waltz #2’ where he sings “she shows no emotion at all, stares into space like a dead china doll“ — but at the time I didn’t even know the song, only later listened to it randomly and that line came up and I was super perplexed and didn’t know what to say. I felt even more connected to his whole persona and music. ‘Angeles’ is by far one of my favorite songs generally and on this album.

4. Jeff Buckley – Grace
Every time someone plays ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ in the van whilst we are on tour, I believe at least one person in the car cries. I don’t know what else to say, other than this is an amazing album to cry to and be melancholic and dramatic. It’s also just perfect to me, and I feel like it’s extremely underrated among other musicians. I actually don’t think that a lot of my friends who play guitar music know or love this album, but I feel like it’s that one album everyone can find a song on that they connect with. Jeff Buckley’s voice is so beautiful, and I don’t even know how and what he plays on guitar because it’s definitely nothing simple but it sucks you in like crazy. His lyrics are so pure and magical, one of my favorites by him on this album is on the song ‘So Real’ – “Love, let me sleep tonight on your couch / and remember the smell of the fabric of your simple city dress”. And “We walked around ’til the moon got full / like a plate”. It’s by far one of my favorite albums, it’s quiet and it’s loud and dramatic – it’s everything. I’m definitely influenced by Buckley’s singing even though I would never compare my voice to his.

5. Soko – I thought I was an Alien
Soko is not only my fashion and makeup inspiration, but also taught me so many things. I love all of her songs, but this debut album is special to me. It’s extremely raw and Soko doesn’t shy away when it comes to being in touch which her negative emotions and being completely honest with her listeners. I love her stories and her calm voice, and I like the way she’s switching instruments when she’s playing live (even though I haven’t seen her live yet, unfortunately). She has this one song on this album called ‘I Just Want To Make It New With You”, which initially made me pick up my bass more when it came to song writing. Overall, Soko was my first queer indie icon and every one of my queer friends has cried at least once to the “We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow’ video. I love Soko, and I’m so excited for her future records and videos.

Thanks to Ilgen-Nur for sharing her favourite with us. Follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

FIVE FAVOURITES: PETSEMATARY

Oxford newcomer PETSEMATARY creates atmospheric, shoegazey soundscapes that in spite of their clear production, brood with a raw intensity. She recorded her first EP VOL I, independently, with all proceeds going to the charities Mind and Shelter.

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 PETSEMATARY 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 ‘Tall Boys’ at the end of this post.

 

1. Jeff Buckley – Grace
This album pretty much made me want to make music. There’s no other way to describe Jeff’s voice other than pure self-expression in sonic form and it’s just fucking magical to listen to. It was the first time I’d heard music that made me want to smile and cry and scream and sing and it just made me want to use my voice in the most true way possible. Singing is a really intimate and personal thing. Your voice is you and there’s not much you can do to change it, and I think that Jeff’s music encouraged me to be as true to that as possible. The album is a kind of beautiful mess of different sounds – Grace is like an orchestral and cinematic love song, whereas tracks like ‘So Real’ and ‘Dream Brother’ are dark and abstract and dreamlike, and Jeff’s voice traverses to whatever depths the songs take him. There’s a lot of darkness in the songs but also there’s this hopefulness and light which really inspires me.

2. Emma Ruth Rundle – Marked For Death
I love everything about Emma. Her songs are dark and twisted and raw and I just think that she’s one of the most powerful female musicians around at the moment. I admire that her songs are both honest but also elusive – she manages to paint scenarios that don’t need to be explicit lyrically, and that makes them all the more powerful. Her guitar work was also a massive turning point in how I approached writing. Even though I’ve been playing guitar since I was a kid it has always been something I’ve felt self-conscious about or something I should always work a little harder at, and something that I have always felt I am inferior at among my male peers. Listening to Emma’s work made me realise that being good at guitar doesn’t need to mean being able to shred scales as fast as all the other guitar guys, but that you can make hauntingly beautiful and unique soundscapes through space, open tunings and effects.

On the title track ‘Marked For Death’ she has these beautiful sparse reverb-drenched plucked guitars that implode into a haze of delayed slide guitars in the chorus – this album pretty much made me want to put slide guitar on every track I make ever. Lyrically I also really admire her. Tracks like ‘Medusa’ and ‘Hand of God’ made me think a lot about female characters in literature and mythology and how they can sort of serve as a way of communicating my own experiences. I think there’s a lot of power in reclaiming those old tropes about women – the seductress, the woman scorned etc. All of those ideas are constructed as reactions to (and fear of) female power, and I feel like in reclaiming them in songwriting or any narrative they can become a way of coming to terms with your own experience. I feel power in reclaiming my own experience through that lens.

3. Elliott Smith – Figure 8
Elliott was the master of making the most bleak things sound melodically beautiful and uplifting. My favourite Elliott record constantly fluctuates, but for songwriting I always seem to go back to Figure 8. His lyrics can be both candid and enigmatic, and just in the way he sings there is an honesty and vulnerability which I find really inspiring. His songs are all feel and no bullshit, and it’s that sort of understated genius aspect which I love so much about all of his music.

The songs are vulnerable and raw but not afraid to hit where it hurts, and I think it just shows that being able to saw how you really feel is a lot of the time more powerful than dressing stuff up in metaphor. That sort of honesty opens you up in songwriting and that really inspired me in how I wanted to communicate my ideas through my songs. I love the arrangements on this album. Obviously his acoustic tracks are beautiful enough as they are but tracks like ‘Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud’, ‘Junk Bond Trader’ and ‘Happiness’ are just really powerful and dynamic to me in terms of their instrumentation.

“All I used to be will pass away and then you’ll see that all I want now is happiness for you and me” – the lyrics really are just bleak as hell yet he manages to twist them into an uplifting and harmonically beautiful track, and I guess its that incongruity between the dark and the light which makes this album and Elliott’s songwriting in general all the more twisted and brilliant to me. It’s all just so beautiful and haunting.

4. PJ Harvey – Is This Desire?
This record has so much depth and dynamic, and PJ is the mistress of dark and light and just everything to me. There’s a lot of noise and dissonance to the songs and I think they all speak to this theme of instinct and rawness which lie behind a lot of the tracks. Tracks like ‘A Perfect Day Elise’ and ‘The Sky Lit Up’ have these hazy distorted soundscapes, and PJ’s voice can go from whisper to growl to scream to ghostly wailing, and I think she’s just an incredibly powerful songwriter and performer. It’s sorta like a constant fluctuating between chaos and calm.

My favourite track on the record probably is the title track, ‘Is This desire?’. The simplicity and honesty of the words, the stripped back accompaniment and vocal are just really evocative to me. It’s my favourite record of hers because it just feels really raw and intimate, and again no-bullshit. I like the idea of these female protagonists which drive the story of the songs – Elise, Angelene, Catherine and so on. From that angle it speaks to me as a record about raw female experience, passion and desire, and I think that the same honesty in reclaiming your own desires and instinctual emotions is what inspired me when making Petsem Vol I. Desire as instinct, possessiveness and anger as instinct and so on.

5. Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream
Billy Corgan for me is one of the most important songwriters (although he is eminently memeable) and I think Siamese Dream is testament to that. It’s just one of my favourite guitar albums ever. There’s a sorta surreal circus-like feel about the songs – it’s sludgy and psychy but has a really great pop melodic feel to it. You have the spacey sleepy-eyed dream tracks like ‘Luna’ and ‘Spaceboy’, which are really beautiful and surreal, but then you also have the way songs like ‘Soma’ and ‘Silverfuck’ soar between sparse reverby guitars to heavy sludge vibes. It’s dynamic and exciting, and an album I go back to again and again when I feel uninspired or am struggling to write. The songs constantly travel to parts you aren’t really expecting. They can be grungey and dark and heavy, but also upbeat and light, all the while with fucking great vocal melodies and harmonies. Also Corgan is a gift to this earth and we don’t deserve him.

Thanks to PETSEMATARY for sharing her favourites with us. Follow her on Facebook & Bandcamp for more updates.

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment