Five Favourites: Laura Reznek

Having received much acclaim for her debut and cross-disciplinary stage show Agrimony, and then this year’s innovative album The Sewing Room, Canadian songwriter and composer Laura Reznek interweaves poignant reflections on the struggles of living in a patriarchal society and personal loss, with her glistening folk-tinged melodies and delicate rich vocals.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, ahead of her upcoming UK tour which kicks off next month, we caught up with Laura to find out about the five albums that inspire her the most. Read about their five favourites below, and then make sure you check out her gorgeous album The Sewing Room…

Judee Sill – Judee Sill
Out of all of these, Judee Sill is the newest discovery for me and I don’t really know how it took me so long to find her. I think this record is so incredible – honest, sad, hopeful, beautiful – and when I first heard the opening song ‘Crayon Angels’ it felt like this warm wave washing over me. Every time I put it on – especially when that oboe hits! –  I always breathe a sigh of relief.

Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
I will love Simon & Garfunkel until the end. This album especially was in my ears a lot while I was writing and recording The Sewing Room. I feel like it’s a really varied record and takes you on a journey. I always love an element of spoken text or conversation woven into music, so love ‘Voices of Old People’ which comes in before ‘Old Friends’ – which has a string arrangement I’m obsessed with. And I think that ‘America’ is the most perfect song ever written.

Madison Cunningham – Revealer
This album blew my mind when it came out. I think Madison Cunningham is one of the best songwriters out there and that this record is pretty much perfect. I heard ‘Life According to Rachael’ in the midst of immense grief and I found it incredibly comforting. I love her use of language and textures in her arrangements.

Anais Mitchell – Anais Mitchell
Another 2022 release, Anais Mitchell’s self-titled record has been a staple in my life. She’s been a longtime inspiration – I saw her play solo in 2016, the day after the US election and the week Leonard Cohen died – and it was the only show I’ve ever openly wept at. ‘Bright Star’ is probably in my ears about ten times a day.

Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
I will never stop being in awe of Fiona Apple. This album was the soundtrack to my lockdown, and the main reason why I wanted to try my hand at producing The Sewing Room on my own, after I heard she’d made the majority of it in Garage Band. It’s raw, it’s human, and makes me feel empowered, uncomfortable, and elated, which is everything I want from a record.


Huge thanks to Laura for sharing her Five Favourites! Make sure you have a listen to the exquisite The Sewing Room, and then catch her when she’s over in the UK in September and October! Tickets here.


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Five Favourites: Joanna Sternberg

Probably my most listened to artist of the last twelve months, New York based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joanna Sternberg released their second album I’ve Got Me last year; an exquisite rumination on life’s difficulties and hopes which perfectly showcases their vast musical talent, I can certainly see why it received such widespread acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. As well as solely writing each and every song on the record, Sternberg also played every single instrument that you hear; creating a truly unique, genre-spanning collection. With an education in Classical and Jazz music, throughout the album they weave a rich tapestry of beautifully lilting folk-strewn sounds alongside reflective narrative lyricism; all brought together with their raw, impassioned vocals. It really is something quite special that I urge you all to immerse yourselves in, if you’ve not yet already.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate Joanna Sternberg’s upcoming tour dates, I caught up with them to find out about the music that inspired I’ve Got Me most. Read about their favourite songs (we’ve allowed them six choices!) and see details of their upcoming live dates below.

I remember the night before the first day in the studio, Matthew Johnson (of Fat Possum Records) told me to come up with at least one song that I wanted to use as an example to inspire each track of the album. It helped SO much and also made me even more excited to get into the studio. Here are a few of the songs that helped to inspire me!

The Pogues – ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’
The Pogues are one of my all-time favourite bands, rest in peace Shane MacGowan. And I actually wrote the song ‘I Will Be With You‘ while I imagined him singing it (with The Pogues accompanying him of course!).

Judee Sill – ‘The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown’ 
The ironic and strange thing is that I wrote ‘Drifting On A Cloud‘ before I was even aware of Judee Sill, though once I became “aware” of her, I immediately became OBSESSED! But then, when I was in the studio playing this song, I really had Judee Sill in my mind, especially this beautiful track, ‘The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown’.

Tom Petty – ‘I Won’t Back Down’
This is a song that I have been obsessed with since the age of twelve! It helped me get through the horrors of being bullied and excluded in the public schools of New York City. I wanted ‘People Are Toys To You‘ to have a similar feeling and arrangement as ‘I Wont Back Down’.  

Leon Russell – ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ 
I first heard Leon Russell’s cover of this song (it’s originally by Hank Williams) in the movie A Poem Is A Naked Person. It was near the beginning of the movie and I became so fixated on it that I don’t remember anything else about that film (except for the disturbing scene that I had to cover my eyes for involving a snake…)! Anyway, I definitely tried to emulate the feeling and energy of this song in ‘She Dreams’. 

Randy Newman – ‘Losing You’
Randy Newman is in the top tier list (in my humble opinion) of the greatest songwriters of all time. He has so many songs that make me cry, and I definitely took so much inspiration from ‘Losing You’ when I recorded ‘Right Here‘; I’m sure that I’d recently been listening to ‘Losing You’, so it was definitely in my mind and my soul while I was writing, even if I was not consciously directly thinking of it.

Roy Orbison – ‘You Got It’ 
Another song that I have loved this song since I was twelve (this is the age where I discovered Limewire and the art of making mix tapes!). I wrote ‘I’ll Make You Mine‘ while imagining I was writing it for Roy Orbison to sing. At the time when I wrote it, I was not even singing my songs – my friends would sing them, as I was too scared and insecure.

Massive thanks to Joanna for sharing their favourite songs with us!

I was lucky enough to catch Joanna Sternberg at a beautifully intimate gig last year at King’s Place, and would highly recommend making sure you catch them live too! They’ll be playing at Primavera festival in Porto on 8th June and End Of The Road festival between 29th August and 1st September, as well as opening for Jessica Pratt for a special night at Union Chapel in Islington on 6th June. Tickets available here.

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

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