Five Favourites: Arc Iris

With their new album Icon of Ego released this month via Ba Da Bing Records, Providence trio Arc Iris, fronted by Jocie Adams (formerly of The Low Anthem) have been busy sharing their brand new sounds far and wide. We caught up with Jocie to ask her about her “Five Favourites” – Five artists or albums that have influenced her songwriting technique. Check out her responses below…

1. John Martyn – Bless the Weather
This record is the Five Leaves Left that never found it’s spotlight in America. The simple musicality on this record is wholly inspiring. The interplay between the bass and guitar is moving. John Martyn’s singing is incredibly human and musical.

Bless the Weather is a perfect record minus one. For some reason the British folk artists had a habit of ruining their perfect records with one electric blues tune. John Martyn did it (with Sugar Lump), Fairport Convention did it, Sandy Denny did it….

2. Yes – Close to the Edge 
A classic that we have shared as a band since day one. Zach and Ray had to learn this record as teenagers when they toured with Jon Anderson, but Zach was a die hard Yes fan well before that moment came about. In addition, Rick Wakeman was Zach’s number one keyboard influence as a kid. It’s hard to talk about this record. You should go listen to it, if you haven’t already. You will either love it, or hate it. It might take 2 or 3 tries to make sense.

3. Joni Mitchell – Blue
This year we re-imagined and released all of Joni Mitchell’s Blue under the name Foggy Lullaby. Learning and re-imagining these songs has had a big influence on the growth of our band. Joni Mitchell’s songwriting taught me a lot about the line between loose and tight when it comes to lyric writing and rhythm in singing. She is a melodic queen. Lastly, Joni’s attitude towards creating art as art rather than art as a part of trending pop culture is inspiring. Of course, she wouldn’t like me saying that because I don’t think she takes well to people trying to summarize her opinions.

4. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing….
Our immediate love for the sonic landscape on this record is paramount to the incorporation of samples into our set. Zach uses samples from my clarinet or his or my voice doing whacky things for both live purposes and the writing process. We have also started doubling drums with sampled drums on a lot of tunes.

5. Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
Stevie is another wildly influential artist for all of us. Strangely, his biggest influence on our band is likely his left hand bass playing. Zach learns a lot from his melodic bass choices, groove and tones. This record is undeniably a classic on so many levels. The fluidity and ease that Stevie carries while playing keys and singing and even playing the drums is inspiring for us all as musicians. The songwriting is beautiful. The arrangements are simple and effective. It’s just great.

Thanks to Jocie for sharing her favourites! Follow Arc Iris on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Emma Lohan – ‘Black Atlantic’

Galway songwriter Emma Lohan crafts intricate, gentle melodies based around her travels on debut album Black Atlantic. After exploring the Atlantic coast from her homeland in Ireland to West Africa and South America, Lohan has created eight tracks that explore her reactions to the landscapes, to the people, and to her own emotions along the way. She’s set to self-release the record (in association with CITOG RECORDS) on October 25th in digital format, as well as on recycled CD (with a download code included).

On opening track ‘Wander Free’, Lohan extrapolates about places she’s never been. Accompanied by gentle guitar, steady percussion and twinkling strings, her lamentations have a captivating day-dream-like quality. Following track ‘1957’ flows in the same vein, as she explores the universe through calm chords and tender vocals. Her journey continues with ‘Snails Trail’, on which she states “I’m not lost, nor am I found” – which feels like an apt explanatory lyric for each of her songs on the record. Her careful story-telling makes the image in the song’s title glisten with gentle intensity.

‘Three Sparrows’ is a nod to her “lyrical hero” Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, and is accompanied by a beautiful stop-motion video directed by Marta Barcikowska. Filled with double entendre, it’s “an escape encapsulating a dangerous love affair” along the stormy Salthill Promenade of Lohan’s hometown in Galway. Her fusion of folk and romance combine beautifully here, making ‘Three Sparrows’ a charming listen. ‘Gut’ follows with its disarming string arrangements and more of Emma’s instinctive lyrics: “there’s beauty in flaws” – and the upbeat, atmospheric sounds of ‘Serekunda’ break through shortly after.

On the penultimate ‘Wild Days’ Lohan yearns for times gone by; times of freedom and reckless abandon, before title track ‘Black Atlantic’ closes the record. Lohan paints images of childhood isolation and loneliness with her lyrics, but the song feels anything but sad – it has a transient quality that makes these painful moments feel less melancholy. Her upbeat rhythms and casual delivery make this a triumphant closing song.

Black Atlantic is clearly a personal album for Emma Lohan, but with her smooth delivery and the record’s buoyant undercurrent of joyful exploration – its a personal experience that can be shared and enjoyed by others too.

Order your copy of Black Atlantic here. Follow Emma Lohan on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Corina Corina – ‘Toothbrush’

Alt-r&b singer Corina Corina knows how painful a breakup can be, but in her new video for ‘Toothbrush’ she’s managed to transform the pain in to a wonderfully choreographed set of dance motifs. The song is an anthem that “raises a middle finger to an ex with no apologies, no shame, and not an ounce of victimhood” – something we can definitely get behind.

Corina Corina has been working on the ‘Toothbrush’ video since 2016, when she initially scrapped the first incarnation of the video, and start over when she met Brooklyn-based modern dance choreographer Nicole Assanti (Nikki and the Noise Dance Company). Nicole understood her vision, and  together the pair styled and produced the visuals, which were co-directed by Zach Surprenant (Mighty Productive Media). The result is a fierce and poetic piece of modern dance sound-tracked by an equally as fierce new track.

Watch the video for ‘Toothbrush’ below and follow Corina Corina on Facebook for more updates.

Find Corina Corina on:
Spotify
Twitter
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Corina Corina.com

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Eliza Shaddad – ‘Just Goes To Show’

Hazy, nostalgic Prom visuals form the video for Eliza Shaddad‘s latest single ‘Just Goes To Show’, which is taken from her upcoming album Future, released on 26th October via Beatnik Creative. Directed by Patrick Taylor and shot in one of Eliza’s favourite venues in London, the video was a bit of a dream come true scenario for Eliza: “the song has always felt like the kind of thing that would be playing in one of those terrible but incredible 90’s movie’s prom scenes, and so I was dying to make a video that played on that.”

Eliza’s shimmering new tune is actually about the heart-cracking, desperate feeling you have just as you’re being broken up with. “Like many songs on the album [‘Just Goes To Show’] deals with themes of escape and regret, but in a rare case here it’s from the perspective of the person being left behind” explains Eliza. It’s these personal, melancholy touches and Eliza’s wonderful reverb-strewn, melodic guitar sounds that make listening to her music so enjoyable.

Eliza will be heading out on a European tour in support of her new album release this November, so make sure you catch her on one of the dates listed below. Watch the video for ‘Just Goes To Show’ and follow Eliza on Facebook for more updates.

Pre-order your copy of Future here.

Eliza Shaddad European Tour Dates 2018
November 26th – London, OSLO
November 29th – Glasgow, The ATTIC
December 10th – Hamburg – Nochtwache
December 11th – Berlin – Privatclub
December 13th – Baden – Zum Alten Hasen
December 14th – Nyon – La Parenthese
December 15th – Paris – Le 1999

Photo Credit: Mel Tjeong

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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