Foxes! are husband and wife team Adam Bell and Kayla Bell, joined by Al Grice and Matthew Thwaites. Together they create beguiling indie music accompanied by some great lo-fi visuals. Dance along to the sing along likes of Who Killed Rob? or exhilarate in the rolling rock of Oh Rosie. From the creation of their own record label, Big Salad Records, to their fun homemade videos, here’s a band doing it their way… Adam answered my questions.

Your new album was launched earlier this month, what has been the response so far?
Yes, it has been exciting and the response has been really interesting, we’ve had some very detailed reviews and writers seem to have found nice words to say and things that have made us think about our music and what we are doing. Releasing an album in January is quite a difficult task, as the press and retail outlets tend to be quiet in the new year. In that sense, I feel that we’ve started 2012 with something that will grow, I’m hoping the album will be heard by the right people and settle into something that is appreciated on a wider scale than we’ve known before, having existed as a DIY band for some time. I suppose what we are doing isn’t necessarily in line with the big popular sounds of today and so we do rely on keen eared enthusiasts to get the ball rolling and tell everyone to love us! Saying that, there’s good signs of progress already, with great press and some old fans coming out of the woodwork to show support, which has been lovely.

Foxes! by Gemma Cotterell.

Your music is a beguiling mix of twee indie and rockier vibes, what are your influences and would you say this is fair description? if not what would you prefer?
Well, the twee influence and tag which seems heavily associated with the band is an interesting one because none of us would say that we are big fans of that genre. Personally, the bands that influence me the most would be Elephant 6 Collective acts like The Apples In Stereo, Of Montreal and Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as Yo La Tengo, Weezer, The La’s, The Unicorns, The Flaming Lips and so on. I like the lo-fi aesthetic and the idea of writing a melody or phrase that catches in your mind and goes round and round, that’s an important thing to try to grasp and a great challenge, which I always find very rewarding. I like to think of us as a rock band who write pop songs that don’t necessarily follow the most expected path. I think there’s space to be both strange and popular, if you have good pop ideas, there’s so much you can do beyond the basic presentation of a song. As we tend to write communally, there’s four minds for each idea to pass through, which gives each song a chance to pick up a variety of styles before its finished.
 

Click here to view the embedded video.

You recently relocated to Brighton, what was the lure?
We started as a three piece in Oxford back in 2005 and moved to Brighton after the summer of 2007. Kayla and our original bass player Dan were studying in Oxford and finished their courses that summer. We were drawn to Brighton by the past to some extent, as I had lived in Brighton during my teenage years, and Kayla had immediately loved it when she first moved over from Canada in 2001. It felt like coming home when we moved back, although Oxford was very good to us and we did love it there as well.
 

Foxes! by Zoey Hardwick.

You’ve also set up your own label Big Salad Records, what prompted this move?
It’s a combination of factors – ever since we played with the folks behind Fence Records when Kayla and I lived in St Andrews, I’ve been inspired by how strong the inspiration is when a group of people work together in a kind of collective. In Brighton, we know some very talented musicians and all of us seem to be involved in lots of projects, most of which never see the light of day and end up stuck on hard drives in people’s bedrooms.
 

Big Salad Records was created as a way to encourage friends to get their music into the public domain and hopefully to build a similar collective to, say, the Elephant Six or Anticon labels in America. For Foxes!, we had worked with a few different labels, releasing singles and EPs but I think we reached the point where we just wanted the album out and felt we had enough contacts and experience to do that with the new label. I’m really excited about it and there’s some great things in the pipeline for Big Salad Records.
 

FOXES! by Lottie Pencheon.

What is it like working as a husband and wife team?
Well it can be intense at times, but usually it’s great fun. Recently Matt and Alan seem to bicker more than we do. I’ll always believe there’s something magical between us when we work together and it’s overwhelming sometimes to think what a great creative partnership we have managed to uncover. A lot of the new songs are more directly written about our marriage and the crazy times we have been through. We are going to record the second record later this year and try to bring it all together into one piece of writing, set to the backdrop of an aquatic drama. It could make or break us!
 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Where can fans catch you in 2012?
We currently have three gigs scheduled. The first is a headline show at Pavilion Theatre in Brighton on 16th February. Then we are back in Oxford for the first time in a while at The Cellar on 10th March. We are also playing a London show for Odd Box Promotions at The Wilmington Arms on 16th March.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Foxes! by Foxes! is out now on Big Salad Records.

James Levy may need something of an introduction, but his cohort Allison Pierce has already risen to fame as one half of The Pierces (read my welcome back interview here). Not that James Levy hasn’t paid his dues… after touring extensively in the mid 2000s with his previous band Levy he almost kicked it all in before deciding to make one last ditch attempt with his music. Picking over an extensive songwriting back catalogue he chose the best tracks and enlisted Allison to duet with him. The result is a richly satisfying album of songs that reek of infidelity and betrayal: James Levy’s throaty growl is perfectly complemented by Allison’s honeyed vocals on tunes which whisper of folk, old school romance, big band and country influences.

James Levy & The Blood Red Rose by James Grover.

Firstly, how did you two hook up?
I’ve known Allison for about 7 years or so, we were good friends at times, and at other times the currents blew us in different directions. I knew her from around, but ultimately she heard my music on myspace. We tried to sing together over the years, but it never seemed like the right moment until now.

Why is Allison known as the Blood Red Rose? (it does refer to her right?)
Yes, it refers to her. I suppose the Blood Red Rose is the muse, the angel hovering above.

How would you describe the style of music on Pray to be Free?
I would like to think that it has the swoony arrangements of great crooner records, but I hope it’s modern too. We all tried to keep the spirits of the gentle bedroom demos, and tried not to add melodies or sounds that weren’t intended from the beginning. The strings and horns are a big part of the songs.

James Levy & Allison Pierce by Elizabeth Hudson.

What inspired the lyrics?
Death, love, relationships, and the death of relationships.

What was it like to work with Guy Berryman of Coldplay fame?
Having Guy produce our album was a great experience. He knows what he wants and how to get it, and truly does it for the love of it. He’s a kind soul and a good friend.

James Levy and the Blood Red Rose by Abi Stevens.

You’ve been on the alternative gig circuit for some time, what have you learnt over the years?
Don’t try too hard. Nothing good can come from it. Though, maybe I didn’t try hard enough! Oh, and be nice to people.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Any anecdotes you can tell us from your days touring with the Maccabees?
Orlando and I gave turns giving each other sponge baths each night, as Hugo read to us. (er, really?!) That’s all I’ve got.

What next for James, and will you be collaborating with Allison again?
It seems to be in the cards, but I try not to think about it too much. Maybe a record on my own, maybe with Allison. There are always lots of ideas spinning, but one can’t control the wind 

Pray To Be Free by JAMES LEVY & THE BLOOD RED ROSE featuring Allison Pierce is released on Heavenly Recordings on February 6th 2012.

Diagrams by Gemma Cotterell.

This has been described as a stripped back experiment in minimalism after your time in Tunng, why did you want to get back to something more basic?
I didn’t have a specific sound in mind when I set out to make the record. Instead I had lots of ideas of things I’d like to try and directions I might want to go in. I was looking for a producer with a studio to work with and wanted to be guided by what ever type of sound that producer was especially good at creating. I really wanted to make a good quality record and for it to be different to what I’ve done before and I was flexible as to how that might happen. Maybe if I’d met a producer with a room full of strange acoustic instruments then I’d made a strange acoustic album. Instead I met Mark and he has a small programming studio and is amazing at precision recording and sequencing. We tried working together for a day and had a lot of fun and the sound developed from a combination of his production style and the songs and ideas I brought with me.

Sam Genders by Sarah-Jayne Draws.

You left Tunng to work on production for other bands and as a teacher in an inner city primary school for 3 years, what led to the decision to leave Tunng and why did you decide to teach?
It was songwriting more than production – I’m only really a producer in the creative sense… I’m not much use with logic as yet and when we play live I can just about get my head around Ableton! I started the primary school job before leaving Tunng purely because we were in a bit of a hiatus financially. I needed a bit of rent cash and so spent 10 minutes doing one of those online job centre searches. It promptly told me that I might want to consider working in a school and that there was a job going in one round the corner from my house. The closing day for applications was that day so I had about 4 hours to get a form, fill it in and drop it round. They agreed to give me the job (as a classroom teaching assistant) and also to give me days off for all my upcoming tour dates with Tunng. Once I started I found it to be a really interesting experience and I found it really challenging in a way that forced me to address some of my confidence issues and become a stronger person for it. I was quite unhappy at the time and although I loved the music and the people in Tunng I felt like I needed to do something different for a while and felt like the school was having a real impact on me as a person. So I left the band and focused on work for a while.

Black Light – Diagrams by Jardley Jean-Louis.

Prior to this you also made music with an album with The Accidental called These Were Wolves (which included singer Liam Bailey and a contribution from harpist Serafina Steer) which I thought was really wonderful. What happened to that project?
I really enjoyed being in The Accidental but it was always a bit of a get together of friends who were busy doing other projects. I wouldn’t rule out working with them again. Stephen Cracknell, whose production sound was such a huge part of that record is still making music that Accidental fans should seek out.

You put on the wonderful Thermal festival a couple of years ago, any plans to put on a similar event in the future?
Thankyou. I really glad you enjoyed it. Thermal was a lot of fun and I’d love to do it again. My favourite bit being sitting around a big camp fire in the Derbyshire woods with the guitar being passed around. I’m really just waiting for the right time to do it again so watch this space.

Aurora – Diagrams by Deborah Moon.

The lyrical imagery of Black Light will be instantly recognisable to fans of Tunng – where do you find inspiration for your songwriting? How have your experiences shaped the creation of this new album?
The themes which inspire me and run through most of my songs are nature, psychology and science. My experience of the last couple of years has been one of becoming more confident and of developing a more positive view of the world and myself and I think that more positive slant is apparent in the new songs.Perhaps doubt as a theme has been replaced to an extent by possibility.

The visual aspect of Diagrams is very important to you, why is that? What was the art direction and who created the graphics? They’re fab!
When I was little my favourite album was Revolver by The Beatles and I’m sure that was partly because it has such a great album cover. I’m quite artistic myself and I love good design so it’s important to me. The most exciting bit of making a record for me is that final moment when the vinyl is delivered and you open it up to see the artwork and the beautiful black disk inside. The art direction I initially gave was based on the work I’d seen by an artist I hadn’t been able to track down. A mixture of geometric scientific looking shapes and lines and natural imagery all mixed together in a cut out collage style that I’d seen in a magazine article about the human mind. After the label suggested a few other people they sent me some work by Chrissie Abbott and it included that piece I’d originally seen and loved so much. Since then she’s done all the artwork and is also involved at an art direction level.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What can people expect from a live Diagrams performance in 2012 and what are you most looking forward to this year?
The live shows are very feel good and a little (nicely) rougher round the edges than the record. Some of the electronic elements have been replaced by guitars and live drums so it’s a touch warmer perhaps. The brass and strings are all played live as well so there are quite a few of us on stage. 9 in total. It makes it a lot of fun for us and hopefully for the audience as well. I think I’m most looking forward to touring in March. We’ll be playing a longer set by then and we get to visit a few of my favourite venues around Europe. Should be fun!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Black Light by Diagrams is out now on Full Time Hobby. Sam Genders is doing a one off headline gig TONIGHT (Wednesday 18th January) at The Lexington, with support from Patterns and the excellent Fairewell. Tickets are available here, for more live dates check the Diagrams website.

Laura J Martin sets out her wares in the album title track and single The Hangman Tree, the sweetest of vocals twirling around languid drums, hand claps and a noodling kazoo. The beat builds to a flute embroidered finale which leads into the stunning Fire Horse, where upon Laura J Martin’s favourite wind instrument takes precedence with unusual and beautiful results. Other standouts on the 16 track album include the bouncy Jesse, the frantic spitfire interludes to the lilting Spy and campfire crackling meets rap of Kissabye Goodnight. You read our recent review of her live gig at the Lexington, and now it’s time to catch up with Liverpudlian musician Laura J Martin as she gears up to release her much anticipated debut album. The Hangman Tree is a gorgeous medley of folk, oriental and jazz influences that needs to be on your stereo soon.

Laura J Martin by Justyna Sowa.

You are a multi-talented musician with a range of musical instruments at your disposal. How many do you play?
My main instruments are flute and piano, but I dabble with the mandolin and other pipes too. 
 

You have said that the flute is your main instrument of choice – has it ever been hard to accommodate a wind instrument and voice in your songs: how do you prioritise what works best?
Aha! Well the loop station was brought on board because of this reason. I have recently incorporated piano regularly into my live shows and recordings as it does more naturally support the vocal, but I do love layering up the flute especially when I go Mellotron / Strawberry Fields style.

What has inspired the lyrics to the tunes on your debut album The Hangman Tree?
Tributes to good people I know and have known, pets, stories relating to my gypsy heritage and flawed relationships.
 
You grew up in Liverpool: how did this urban environment produce someone so bohemian? Did your parents encourage your music and if so in what way?
Well I grew up in one of the dullest suburbs of Liverpool so we were forced to make our own entertainment. My parents have always been pretty supportive. They followed the Catholic tradition of having more than 2.4 kids so they probably lost focus with me maybe! In all seriousness they have been very encouraging, my Dad is sometimes my personal caddie too. Music has always been important to the Martin family. My Grandad was a pianist so he planted the seed.
 

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Hangman Tree has been some time coming: we’ve been championing you for over 2 years on Amelia’s Magazine. Has it been hard to get the album out and what have the biggest frustrations and joys of the process been?
Yes, tell me about it!! The joys of the process are creating the songs and the satisfaction of completing them and being able to perform them live. It can be frustrating having to wait that length of time before releasing an album, but if you leave songs to settle you are able to pick out the strongest ones and ruthlessly erase the ones that don’t cut the mustard.
 
How did you hook up with record label Static Caravan?
Through Marc Riley, I have a lot to thank him for. Well saying that I met Marc through Euros Childs and Norman when touring with Jonny. Those fine chaps saved my life!
 

Where can our readers see you perform live in 2012?
Well some dates are coming together in the UK. Please see my website for details: laurajmartin.com I have also been working with Richard James so there should be some dates on the board for that soon too.
 

Any top tips for other musical acts to look out for this year?
I’ve been digging out some old stuff to be honest. Geoff from Static Caravan gave me a Johnny Harris LP for christmas and it’s a beast! New stuff? I think Y Niwl are terrific, Serafina Steer, Clinic have just released a new album which I am looking forward to listening to.

The Hangman Tree by Laura J Martin is out on Static Caravan on 23rd January 2012. See also our recent review of her performance at the Lexington here.

Straight from the opening clatter of Settle Down its clear that the new album from Fireworks Night (championed in Amelia’s Magazine many a moon ago) is something quite special. A violin curls hypnotically around the driving beat as the lyrics relish the ‘untold pleasures of human interaction‘ in grand orchestral style. Across the Sea is a partly delicate, partly bitter tale that yearns for something more far away across time and space, whilst the grind of strings dominates in Broken Bottles. Even as the vocals come to the fore, as in That Easy Way (where the falsetto has more than a touch of Antony Hegarty) there is always a defiant beat to drive the melody along. One Winter, One Spring is a rollicking slice of what I have decided to term chamber folk: a beguiling mix of folk inspired narrative and chamber pop largesse (I say that in a good way) On the day of the album release I caught up with founding member James Lesslie.

Fireworks Night by Alex Green aka MSTR GRINGO.

What have you been up to since we last spoke in 2007? Has it been an eventful few years? What has changed and what has remained the same?
It has been a very eventful four years, even if the time between the two albums might suggest otherwise. When last we spoke the band was more a collective – which is perhaps a fancy way of saying I hadn’t worked out how to organise things properly. In the second half of 2007 Rhiannon and Neil, then Ed, joined playing violin, viola and drums respectively. In the autumn of that year we toured with another band that Ed and I were in called The Mules (also featured in Amelia’s Magazine, fact fans) and that cemented the line-up. It’s been the six of us ever since with the other half being made up of myself, Tim on piano and Nick on guitar and too many other instruments to mention. Through 2007 and 2008 we were lucky enough to play with some bands who I very much admire such as Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown and David Thomas Broughton. We also recorded and released an E.P in 2008 and began work on the album in 2009. We recorded it ourselves and that and other boring practical issues led to the rather long time it’s taken for us to release it.

New album One Winter, One Spring is released on Monday 7th November, did you deliberately time it for this time of year?
We had initially hoped it would come out in the summer so it was not entirely deliberate. When things got delayed it was suggested and seemed an apt, if a little hokey, combination.

What prompted your name, was it a particularly love of Bonfire Night?
It was the result of a rather poor joke that I can no longer remember. It has since turned out that my mum loves fireworks – she bounds to the window any time they appear near the house – and has decided we’re named on account of this, a story I don’t want to spoil.

Fireworks Night by Victoria Haynes.

Your music is described as a cross between folk and chamber pop, has it always been thus, and what influences have helped to shape your unique sound?
I think so, though the chamber pop factor has seemingly increased over the last few years. I think our sound is the product of the multitude of musical interests that the six of us have. I hope I am right when I say that Nick is keen on people such as William Basinski and Arvo Part, Rhiannon enjoys Bellowhead, Ed likes ABC, Neil Wild Beasts and Tim has all of the Tom Waits albums – they all end up in there in some shape or form. You might have to listen closely but they’re there.

What inspires your lyrics and who writes them? I hear that family, home and the sea are strong themes, why is this?
I write the lyrics to the songs. It is difficult to say what specifically inspires them but generally it might be the pleasure of attempting to express an emotion, a story, or a visual image that the music might have suggested with language. I was a few songs into writing the album when I noticed that the themes you mention seemed to be recurring in the lyrics so I thought I would try and develop them. The reason for their initial appearance may be where I grew up which was near the ocean. The attention to family and home probably connects to that as well as the fact that we are all around the end of our twenties and perhaps thinking about such things. Our parties these days have more food and less own-brand spirits with white labels that bark their contents, GIN, VODKA, WHISKY. Ouch.

Across the Sea by Zyzanna.

Have you made any videos to accompany this album and if so where can I see them and what are they about?
There are some videos on their way we hope. There’s one for Settle Down that’s being made by a man named Nate Camponi who I have never met but is very good with a camera. It is very near completion and should be visible in the next week or two. There are subsequent plans for doing ones for Across the Sea and One Winter, One Spring, the former hopefully will be done in mid-December and the latter mid-January. Ideas so far have included the use of old super-8 footage and film-noir using Lego. We shall see what emerges and let you know when it does.

Settle Down

What are your plans for the future and can we see you playing live anywhere soon?
We will be celebrating the album’s release with a show at The Wheelbarrow with the Bleeding Heart Narrative in London on 17th November and I think we’re also playing at the New Cross Inn on 14th December. We all have jobs and other things that make playing shows a less regular event then they used to be. We currently aim for one per month which seems to be working out. We will see how things go with this album before plotting our next project. I already have songs ready to go so we shall see what happens. I’d really like to get everyone together and have dinner at some point in the near future as well.

Here’s to a heartwarming Fireworks Night dinner sometime soon. One Winter, One Spring is out today on Organ Grinder Records. Make sure you grab a copy and spread the word because Fireworks Night is too good to be a part time project!

Fireworks Night by SarahJayneDraws aka Sarah Jayne Morris.

Honestly, This World, is one of the most marvellous albums I have heard this year – made all the more thrilling in the knowledge that it is merely the side project of a host of talented musicians more used to playing in better known bands. From anthemic opener Everyone I Know to the delicate chimes and scuzzy reverb of Boxes, the laid back jazz/trip hop inflections of Beautiful Creature and gentle lull of Oceans and Waves this is a fantastically diverse collection of songs that are drawn together perfectly by the pure vocals of Stacey Sievwright. I spoke with guitar and keyboardist Gordon Skene.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Moth and Mirror by Jacqueline Valencia.

You are a very exciting sextet of Stacey Sievwright, Gordon Skene, Louis Abbott, Kev McCarvel, Iain Sandilands & Pete Murch, with members coming from the bands Frightened Rabbit, Admiral Fallow, The Reindeer Section and Arab Strap. How on earth did you all get together? I hear the Scottish music scene is quite small, does it ever get a bit difficult because of this (you know, relationships etc)?
Well I suppose we started out playing together as a backing band for our friend Colin (The Boy Who Trapped The Sun) – that was Stacey, Kevin and myself. When he moved down to London we decided we liked hanging out and playing together so we kept going, and wrote some songs of our own. Later we were joined by Stacey’s old bandmate Iain (the Professor of Percussion) and Pete, and we recruited Louis as a sort of stand-in for me while I was away fulfilling other touring commitments. But he was ace so I came back and we both played guitar. I suppose the music scene is quite small up here, but everyone is pretty friendly towards each other and helps each other out. It’s not good for personal relationships though, no. Bumping into your exes is all too easy. I suppose in a way that’s good for the music, in turn.

What differentiates The Moth and The Mirror from your other respective bands? What makes this unique combination sound so fresh and new?
I suppose because we don’t take it too seriously, that lifts a certain amount of pressure off us. If there’s one thing scots aren’t good at it’s performing under pressure! Because of the way we formed (slowly, organically) there’s a genuine family feel. We have a wide range of influences too, gathered from our time apart and brought together when we do get a chance to meet.

The Moth and the Mirror by Sarah Austin.

Your name is quite memorable, how did you come up with it and does it have a meaning?
It’s the title of a children’s story, from a dusty old book we found in Stacey’s cupboard. About how the King Moth fell in love with his reflection in a mirror in an abandoned mansion, but the mirror broke and he sends his minions out nightly to search for his estranged Queen. Quite dark and romantic. At the time, there weren’t nearly so many ‘and the’ bands around.

The Moth and The Mirror by Gareth A Hopkins.

How do you go about writing together, can you describe a bit of the process?
Usually Stacey brings us an idea or a snippet of a melody, and we take it from there; just a couple of us at first, then on to the rehearsal room. But a few were written straight off, as a band together. You can tell if it’s a good idea because someone will add a part to it instantly and it blossoms from there.

How do you all find the time to get together: is there a secret formula to juggling so many musical ventures, and what do you do when you all get together (apart from make music)?
It’s really hard! That’s why it’s taken us this long to make an album, and then almost the same time again to release it. There’s no secret, I guess just perseverance and a genuine fondness for the project. When we do get together, we mostly waste the time by talking nonsense and taking the piss out of each other. Or Stacey cooks.

Stacey of The Moth and the Mirror by Jacqueline Valencia.

We’ve just missed your mini launch tour – where else can people see you over the coming months? 
I couldn’t say at the moment unfortunately… nothing is planned (see above!), so it might be quite last minute. Best to keep an eye on our twitter feed @mothmirror or facebook page.

Who created your album cover and what was the brief, it’s really quite beautiful?
Thank you! It’s a piece by an artist called Fiona Watson – she also has an excellent flickr page – who Iain and Stacey discovered one afternoon last winter at an exhibition above a lovely wee bar/cafe in the merchant city. She’d already done it, and we asked her if we could use it – she very kindly agreed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Are there any great Scottish bands that you recommend we check out that perhaps don’t get the attention they deserve?
Endor and Open Swimmer just opened for us at our Edinburgh launch; both lovely, and beautiful songwriters.

Honestly, This World by The Moth and The Mirror, is out now on Olive Grove Records. Go grab yourself a copy.

Miss You in the Days is the new album from The Miserable Rich, a fabulous collection of songs inspired by ghosts, ghouls… and possession. In other words, the perfect musical accompaniment for Halloween and beyond. I got in touch with lead singer James De Malplaquet to find out what inspired this theatrical tour de force.

Why do you think your music is referred to as Chamber Pop and is there anything else you would prefer to be called or that you use to describe yourselves better?
It would seem a little churlish to deny that there are both pop and chamber music elements to our music – but the term ‘chamber pop’ is just one consonant away from ‘chamber pot’ – a little too close for comfort in my humble…. We certainly use some traditional chamber music instruments – violin, cello, double bass, that kind of thing. I’m told the idea of chamber music was that it went against the tyranny of the orchestral hall – it was music that could be played anywhere, in any room, or chamber. We certainly fit in with that, having played in all kinds of places from churches to parks, palaces to (I ‘kid’ you not) creches.

Taking the songs Pisshead, Hungover and Chestnut Sunday (about cocaine addiction), and our propensity for liquor, we started off calling it ‘bar-room chamber music’ – but that didn’t really fit with the song for my mother (I hope). We do think there’s a bit of intensity in the music and the lyrical subject matter though – a bit of fire in the belly – and so we’re toying with ’fiery chamber music for (song) lovers’ at the mo. There’ll probably be a new one in a month or two, mind.

Who inspires you musically – I think there’s a definite jaunt to your music that calls to mind the theatrical big band festival scene. Has this been a factor in your development?
I think you’re right; there is indeed a certain theatrical flourish to what we do. Not that we planned it – and apart from my soft spot for Kate Bush, Grace Jones and Peter Gabriel, it’s not really there in the bands that we like – Will loves Loney Dear, for example – hardly known for his overblown music or stage shows….. I don’t know – I guess it just sort of came out that way. I do remember talking to the band before some of our first shows and agreeing that it didn’t matter if we hit a few bum notes, as long as we put emotion into the playing. It’s probably ramping the emotion up that gives it this element of theatre. We might play one or two less bum notes nowadays (we might not), but we still try to maintain that level of intensity.On the other hand, it might just be because we’re an incorrigible bunch of drama queens, completely divorced from reality. Sounds much more fun that way.

The Miserable Rich by Beth Crowley.

How big is the current incarnation of your band – and who plays all the different instruments?
We’ve always been a five piece, with Will Calderbank on cello and occasional piano, Mike Siddell on violin and Rhys Lovell on double bass. This is the first time Ricky Pritchard has joined us on guitar and piano, and we added a drummer (!) this time round. Last album, we made a rule that we all had to play at least two instruments and sing on the album, so we shared the drumming, but on this album we got a real live drummer – David ‘Badlace’ Schechtriemen – to pitch in and help out. Myself, I used to play bits of piano, guitar, percussion and mandolin on the records, but they’ve gradually wrestled all the toys off me and made it clear I should just stick to singing….. Spoil sports.

Your album Miss You in the Days is described as “a collection of witty mischievous ghost stories” and is being released on Halloween. Have you always been fans of the otherworldly and the paranormal, and how or why did this love come about?
It was just one of those •spooky• coincidences, really. If we were going to record another album, I wanted us to go away and have an adventure – and so I came up with this idea of going to a haunted house and writing an album based on ghost stories. I’d noticed that we English – myself in particular – found it difficult to write about sex and death, and I thought this might be a good way of exorcising those particular lyrical demons. After I’d sold the idea to the band, I started reading only ghost stores and went around on tours in the UK and Europe, telling anyone who’d listen our plan, hoping someone would say ‘Come record at my house – it’s haunted as hell‘. In the end, a friend who had offered her haunted attic suddenly ‘remembered’ she was living next to Britain’s most haunted stately home, the Jacobean Palace of Blickling Hall – birthplace of Anne Boleyn. Introductions were sought, deals were cut with the National Trust, and off we went, hope in our hearts and ghouls in our heads.

Two rough diamonds from The Miserable Rich by Rhiannon Ladd.

You recorded parts of the album in the haunted Blickling Hall – any good stories from this period? Mysterious creaks, ghost sightings – or were the stories of the place enough to work on your imaginations? 
Blickling is an amazing place, incredibly beautiful and evocative. Visiting its lonely windswept and tree-lined roads on our first visit, seeing the palace loom out of the darkness, it was easy to imagine people losing their wits in the deep dark Winters. Perhaps we did ourselves. David said he saw faces at the window on more than one occasion, the mics kept picking up German voices, and though the caretaker once told us in thick Glaswegian tones ‘The only spirits you’ll find here are whiskey, vodka and gin‘, Ricky and our manager Howard will tell you something very different about the unexplained voice they recorded late one Friday night in the West Turret Bedroom…….

Anything’s Possible cover art by illustrator Stanley Chow.


How does the erotic element of the album present itself, and which songs is this felt in the most?
I had been thinking about how the word ‘possession’ is both a supernatural and a sexual term. We hope to possess or be possessed by our lovers, or by the act of lovemaking. I’d also been mulling a little playfully on the meaning of words like ‘moaning’ and ‘groaning’. If you hear someone moaning in an old, empty house, say, you might draw very different conclusions to those you might on hearing the same sound through a hotel room wall. These ideas, and the idea of ‘love across beyond the grave‘ are suggested in the songs Laid Up In Lavender, On A Certain Night, Honesty and True Love – but I hope it’s not too heavy-handed.

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What is going on in On a Certain Night? The lyrics sound quite stalkerish… who or what inspired this tune, and whose house was the lucky venue for the video? 
My first love was possessed. Many may believe this of their own experience, but in my case, these were her own words. She told me that a bright shiny light would enter the room, enter her body (as I hoped to do myself, but in quite a different way), and tell her what to do. I wasn’t sure if I believed her, or if I thought it a brilliant and elaborate method of getting out of responsibility for one’s actions…. When we started writing the album, many years later, I remembered the story and thought I’d write a slightly disturbing pop song from the perspective of this possessing spirit. There may be a little revenge in this – he is quite a lascivious devil, isn’t he? As for the video, it was all shot in one night, after hours in our new favourite Brighton pub, The Chequer Inn, run by a lovely and accommodating couple who had come up to me in various other pubs and told me they loved the band, and once memorably giving me a packet of twiglets.

Some pretty nightmarish make up featured in the video too. Do you have any special plans for this Halloween and what will you be dressing up as?
Hideous, isn’t it? That’s what happens if I don’t have time to properly put my face on before going out……. At least it ensures the video doesn’t look like Losing My Religion…. Yes, there will indeed be a bit of dressing up – and for this tour we’ll be playing in some churches, crypts, castles and even palaces, so anyone who gets into the ’spirit’ of the nights will get a special ‘ghost hour’ radio mix I’ve made. I think we’re going to be imprinting a lot of memories on this tour….

Click here to view the embedded video.

The new single On A Certain Night is out on 24th October and the album Miss You in the Days is out, fittingly, on 31st October. Both on Humble Soul. Not to be missed. Check out The Miserable Rich soon! There are a few free tracks to download on Facebook here.

He’s gained plaudits as far away as China. He blends genres and styles in a totally inimitable way, all by himself. From the dreamy pop of Wheels and Love to the psychedelic title track Pop Down The Rabbit Hole, this album is a real gem. Meet Alberto Arcangeli.

Your debut album Pop Down the Rabbit Hole is completely composed, played and produced by you – how did you set about making this happen? And why on earth did you chose this surely most difficult method?
I began writing and recording songs by myself as soon as I started playing as it came naturally to me. I had a 4 track recorder and I just thought that it would have been simpler and faster to learn how to play all the instruments, rather than explaining to someone else how I wanted them to be played. In addition, I like working with other musicians, and I often ask for their suggestions, but I also want to have the last word on my music. Music is my passion, so I didn’t want to have to make any compromises.

You decided to start singing in English just two years ago… what prompted that decision and do you think it was a good one?
I’ve been listening to English music all my life, I wonder instead why I’ve been singing in Italian for 20 years! The thing is, I used to think that Italians should sing in Italian, but I was wrong. Each kind of music has its ‘preferred’ language: rock music needs a lot of words that end with consonants, whereas Italian words always end with a nice ’round’ vowel. The same melody sounds completely different when it is sung in two different languages, that’s why in the past I used to discard most of the songs I wrote: the words didn’t sound right to me. Now everything sounds fine so, yes, it was a really good decision.
 

Alberto Arcangeli by Lucy Wills.

The Chinese have been particularly receptive to the album – how on earth did they discover it? And why do you think it appeals to them?
How did they discover it? I self promote my music and I won’t give out any secret tips about that! (Amelia, can you make a note that I’m laughing, here?) Seriously, I was pretty sure that I could find someone who would like my music in China. I looked on the internet (though it’s hard to surf the Chinese websites), and when I found the right site (or what I thought could be the right one), I got in touch with them. What surprised me was the reception I got. Over 40,000 contacts and 5,000 downloads in one month are not small numbers. I think that this has something to do with a thing we all know: the Chinese are a lot! But I also noticed a funny thing: my first album in Italian got nearly 1,000 downloads.

This album was a family affair, in that the cover drawings are by your father and the design is by your sister – has a creative background been integral to your life? Can you tell us a bit more about growing up an Arcangeli?
What a nice question. Actually, I grew up both in a creative town (Urbino is a beautiful renaissance place, full of art and music) and in a creative family: my father was a part-time painter and engraver (something we have in common), my sister is an illustrator and my grandfather was a cabinet-maker who used to craft some beautiful furniture. But nobody ever forced me or even encouraged me to be an artist. My father used subliminal methods instead, like the following: when I was 8 or 9 I asked him to record on tape my vinyl of The Beatles‘ Rubber Soul, and he gave me this cassette with a piece of Ravel between side A and side B, and Camille Saint-Saëns at the end of the record! He did the same with Revolver. I must say that I never skipped the classical music inserts.
 

By day you are a finance manager! How do you manage the to make time to play music and what do your colleagues think of your music?
I’m a finance manager by day and a musician by night, so I don’t talk a lot about being a musician at work. Most of my colleagues found out about my music when it was used in a Continental Tyre advert and that was broadcast on TV. Some local magazines reported the story of an ‘unknown songwriter who signed with a multinational company‘. A colleague of mine who is also a friend helped me write the lyrics of two songs for my first EP Dreamsongs. Anyway, technology is of great help in saving time and conciliating my job and my music interests. I can record a music idea singing on my mobile phone (sometimes I even end up using my mobile phone recordings, like the first half of Wheels and Love, or the Paris metro samples), listen to the music in the car, write down a lyric in a email, and so on. And, to refer back to your first question, I can decide to record a song at any moment, without asking anyone: I just go down in my garage (where my studio is) and start playing.
 

Glass painting by Massimo Ottoni.

I hear that you are thinking of putting together a full band to tour next year – what prompted this decision and what will happen to the world of finance?
It would be nice to put together a new band to play my songs – I had one, but we disbanded two years ago. I’m not thinking of touring, just having a band to play 6-8 shows a year so I can say ‘Okay, I am real, and I’m not just a website!‘. So I don’t think this would interfere with my job.
 

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What inspired the making of the video for Wheels and Love? Can you tell us a bit about the story and the accolades you have received for it?
I wrote Wheels and Love in my garden on a sunny September morning while the birds were singing in the trees. Kind of a dreamy picture. I liked it a lot and was looking for someone to do the video of this song, but I didn’t want a standard pop video, I wanted it to be a piece of art – something that could have a life of its own. I knew Massimo Ottoni because he studied art in Urbino. I loved what he did but hadn’t seen him for 15 years, so I looked him on the internet and I realised that he was still doing beautiful things. I sent him an email with the song and a few words about the project, and he liked it. Then he came out with the idea of a paint-on glass animated video. That was just what the song needed. Eventually the video won the Professional Prize Award at the prestigious Anima Mundi Web & Cell animation festival of Brazil, and was chosen as an Official Selection of the 2011 Independents’ Film Festival (IFF) in Tampa Bay.

Glass painting by Massimo Ottoni.

How long did it take to put the video together and what did the process of working with illustrator Massimo Ottoni involve?
The working process was pretty straightforward, we just met a couple of times and then he started working on the animation. He decided to split the animation in two parts: the first part of the song, more static, with minimal movements, dominated by whites, blues and greys (with a rendition of The Guitarist by Picasso), and the instrumental part, where the music ‘melts’ in a fluid flow, with heavy warm colours, like reds and yellows. A couple of months later the video was completed.

 
You have spoken about doing a short movie with Massimo Ottoni, can you let us know anything about potential ideas yet? Any secret tip offs?
The secret is: I haven’t spoken of this thing with him yet, so I still have to convince him! By and large, the idea is to find a theme to work on, and then start working on it separately. We can then meet every now and then, organise what we’ve done, and decide the next direction. Massimo can work in a lot of different ways: sand art, illustration, paint-on-glass, photography, so the movie could be very variegated. I have an idea for a subject, but I prefer to discuss it with Massimo first.
 
Where can people get hold of the whole album? I hear it’s a bargain…
You’re right, Amelia! People can buy my new album, Pop Down The Rabbit Hole, for only 2$. In fact, you only pay for the shipping costs and get the CD with a brand new beautiful sleeve. You can buy Pop Down The Rabbit Hole here with a Credit Card or here with Paypal.
 

100 Acres of Sycamore was written in Mallorca, where he stayed at the home of Anna Friel – invited after having met her by chance in Valencia. He was enchanted by the ancient setting and on his return recorded the entire album in seven days. It’s a deeply rich experience, made special by his use of language. Not for nothing is Fionn Regan an honorary member of the Trinity College Literary Society.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fionn Regan plays a couple of inshore dates this week, including one at Rough Trade West this Sunday 18th September, then at the Lomography Gallery Store on Commercial Street. He headlines Bush Hall on the 20th September. 100 Acres of Sycamore is out now on Heavenly Recordings.

The Raincoats are an all girl band who formed during the late 1970s and split up in the mid 1980s. I was very little at the time of their original releases so unfortunately I did not discover The Raincoats until much more recently, well into my adult years. The band had an exciting can do attitude that melded punk, classical and reggae influences into spiky arrhythmic folk punk tunes that even today sound way more exciting than many current bands. They reformed in the mid 90s after a resurgence in interest thanks to gushing plaudits from Kurt Cobain and are now widely hailed as one of the seminal post punk bands. I catch up with founders Ana da Silva and Gina Birch as they gear up to rerelease their second album on its 30th anniversary.

Why did you decide to reissue Odyshape now?
ANA:  This year is the 30th anniversary of this album. So, as we like anniversaries, we decided to release The Raincoats and Odyshape on their 30th… We remastered the albums for Japan and re-did the art work so it would sound and look the best possible. We now own the rights to them and, as they should be available, we thought we’d release them on our own label We ThRee. Both on CD and vinyl. They look and sound the best ever! Theyl also have a booklet and A4 sheet respectively with liner notes, lyrics, photos and a piece of writing from me on the 1st album and from Gina on Odyshape.

What does Odyshape mean?
GINA: The title was a pun on the odyssey of a body. The idea that a body could have an ideal shape and it if did, what happens when a body doesn’t live up to that ideal. It was at a time, when (as probably now) there seemed to be a body fascism. It was important for women to be this shape or that shape. Thanks to people like Beth Ditto, and hopefully The Raincoats, things have been broken down a little. Hair can be crazy, messy, outfits can be baggy or tight, inside out or upside down, we can be fat or thin, creative, playful, stylish and beautiful without having to subscribe to some fashion mag ideal.

You formed the original band whilst still at art college… how did your studies in art influence how you made music?
ANA: Besides the obvious side of art work, I think we’re trying to do what art should do: create works that inspire other people, that question the status quo, that express ideas which come from our own minds and hearts and also works that look at the human condition and provide some comfort to the listener.

The Raincoats by Karin Soderquist.

Odyshape seems to owe as much to contemporary classical music as it does punk – was this something that inspired you?    
ANA: We listen to all sorts of music so, intentionally or unintentionally, different  things appear. I do like some classical music very much, like the Bach’s cello suites, Erik Satie, some opera, etc.  but I don’t think my playing sounds very classical…maybe you mean the violin which was played by Vicky Aspinall who is classically trained.

The Raincoats in 1981.

You haven’t produced a new album since the mid 90s – what have you been up to since then?
ANA: I’ve been doing my own solo music and released an album called The Lighthouse on Chicks On Speed records. I’ve also been doing some drawings and paintings some of which I’ll be showing at the Pop Montreal festival, together with Gina’s videos and Shirley’s photographs. It’s really a great opportunity to show our art, visual and musical. It’s the first time we do this and are very happy and excited about it.
GINA: I have been collaborating with various musicians and artists and very involved in a project called The Gluts, (with two women artists) Also I have been playing solo, writing songs, making films, painting and, raising two children.

The Raincoats by Rukmunal Hakim.

Gina – you were an early fan of the craft revival – knitting on tour. Do you still craft and if so what?
GINA: I did knit on the first Raincoats tour, when I wore the jumper at the final gig… and then didn’t do any knittingfor quite a few years but have always liked to paint, draw, knit, mosaic, make films whatever. I have been knitting a lot in the last year or two and have made Raincoats inspired bags, and I have also been sewing banners with lyrics and messages on them.  

The Raincoats by Kassie Berry.

Has Gina Birch’s film, The Raincoats, Fairytales, been completed? 
GINA: The film is still a work in progress. It is an organic process it seems and hopefully will be concluded in the coming six months.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You will be playing your debut album live again at ATP this December – anything special in store and what are you looking forward to most about the Holiday Camp experience?
ANA: Just playing is a special thing, but we’ve played twice at ATP and really enjoyed it: swimming, meeting people, being able to choose amongst so much different music and the relaxed atmosphere. We will be playing the first album at Jeff Mangum’s request but will play other songs too, not sure which yet.

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Which other current bands do you enjoy listening to or watching?
ANA: I think P.J. Harvey’s latest album is so good, so I enjoyed listening to it at seeing them live a couple of times. Also saw Portishead whose music I like but had never seen live and that was very good too. I was listening yesterday to Ponytail, Colleen, Electrelane, Neutral Milk Hotel, Louis and Bebe Barron, Jenny O in the car coming back from Portugal.

The Raincoats by Barb Royal.

What next for The Raincoats?
ANA: We’re doing a tour in the U.S.A. and Canada (New York, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto and Montreal) in September and ATP in December. And because of the re-release of Odyshape and those dates some interviews too… thanks for your part. Otherwise nothing concrete, but I’m sure other things will happen.

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Odyshape is rereleased in heavyweight vinyl and as a special edition CD on We ThRee records on September 12th 2011. The band will tour the east coast of the USA from 16 – 26 September 2011 and play Jeff Mangum’s ATP, Minehead on 3 December 2011.