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.

http://www.itstartshear.com makes no grand entrance: I Am Piano is the softest of openers, with quiet keys gradually joined by the curling sighs of a looped violin. The vocals only makes an appearance at the end, sliding easily into the next tune. Melody, whether picked out on violin, piano or guitar is the most essential component of this album, which I think is best listened to as a whole. Blue, written by Peter’s father, is deliciously light but it isn’t all airy fairy – the title track It Starts Hear references the website domain name of the album in the lyrics, complete with scratchy off beats and sampled trumpets. With Asleep things once again take a more secretive turn, female chorals creating a rolling lull in Colin. Peter then does a fair effort of singing in German for sparse Bad Words, despite confessing to a poor knowledge of the language (see below). With The Notes On Fire the album gathers speed again, with vocals entirely composed of la-las; who knew they could be so evocative? The album finishes on the beautifully sophorific Everything I Know, ending http://www.itstartshear.com with low key panache.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Searsmont, Maine (USA) and raised mostly in Carlton, Oregon.

How did you find your way into music; was it an easy and natural process or has it been a struggle to make it happen?
Both of my parents are musicians, and both my older brother and sister as well, so I grew up in a house full of music and it felt natural, almost essential, for me to take up an instrument. I started taking lessons on the violin at age 7, and also tried to play whatever other instruments I could get my hands on.

When was this album put together and what frame of mind were you in when you wrote it?
I started recording the first notes for the new album in January, 2009 . . . and from there it was a long and surprisingly complicated journey before I was able to call it finished. I think my frame of mind went through many phases and changes in those few years… everything from ecstatic happiness to complete depression and all that’s in between.

Peter-Broderick. Image courtesy of Incubate.

You decided to release it via your website - what was the thinking behind this?
Well, when I first started recording the songs for this album, I realized that most of them had a real story they were based around, and I was imagining the finished album coming with some kind of book in which people could read all these ideas I wanted to share about the music. but then I thought . . . wait a minute . . . most people don’t get physical copies of music these days! Most of them just download it, so they’ll never see this book which, to me, would be a big part of the album. So I developed the website idea to be a place online where all listeners, no matter which format that they obtain the album in, can have access to the same notes and visuals that are meant to accompany the music. That’s the basic idea.

Peter Broderick by JL Illustration.

One of the songs on the album was written by your father when he was 19, which sounds incredibly romantic! What kind of musician is he?
My father is a closet musician . . . he is very passionate about music, and perhaps at one point he had his own dreams of building a career in music, but he’s terrified of performing in front of other people. I’ve actually never heard him sing, except for on this one cassette tape my mother kept with a recording session from 1979, where he plays the guitar and sings this one song that he wrote, called blue. I fell in love with this song when my mother played it for me in 2008, and dreamed about sharing it with the world somehow. So I recorded a cover version for this new album, plus a lovely label from Berlin, called Sonic Pieces, released his original version on a 7″ vinyl in December, 2011.

Another song is dedicated to a bird whose life you stole whilst driving – what did this make you feel and do you feel that amends can be made by means of expressing gratitude in incidences such as this?
The day I ran over that bird I felt absolutely awful… I remember feeling ashamed to be human, thinking it was so stupid that we roll around in these big machines on our smooth roads that destroy parts of nature. I wrote a long piece of text that day about how terrible I felt, and also wrote the song trespassing, and I think doing those things definitely helped me to make amends with the situation. It was an accident after all, and since I wasn’t able to go back in time and undo it, I did the best I could to express my sorrow and to somehow turn something tragic into something beautiful and positive.

Peter Broderick by Gareth A Hopkins.

You’ve had a somewhat difficult year, what with a recurring knee injury that left you unable to walk. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking? And how did you learn to cope?
There has been a great paradox in my life the last few years . . . because, the week before I moved to europe toward the end of 2007 (which is when I feel like my career in music really started), I had a very stupid accident in which I tripped over my suitcase and destroyed my right knee… and it took me a long time to figure out what was really wrong with it, and in that time I was traveling the world and doing all these amazing new things, but always feeling restrained by this physical problem. And since I waited so long before having the right operation for my knee, I developed a lot of strange habits in my body to compensate for the bad knee, and which sort of threw off the balance in my body. But I also have so many things to be thankful for, and in many ways these last years have been a dream come true, so I try to focus on the good things and to be grateful for all that I have.

How would you describe http://www.itstartshear.com and do you think that the website as a name of an album will work? (it confused me a little bit)
I’m sorry if it’s confusing! But I really like the idea of the website as a title . . . and not because I’m obsessed with the internet or anything. Actually, sometimes I really hate the internet, but no matter what I think, I can’t deny that it’s become a huge part of our lives and has made so much possible for me. So in a way I see the title as some kind of tribute to the internet, or maybe even a statement of how our virtual lives are seemingly becoming more and more prominent and possibly even pushing reality aside… but I like the web address as a title because it brings people to the site, which I have built it as a place where people can listen to the music and read about it and see images and videos associated with the music. Any time the album is written about, it will automatically become a link to this virtual place… in my mind it makes perfect sense! Of course there is another side of me that thinks the whole idea is ridiculous . . . but it was just one of those ideas that I felt I had to try out. You’ll never know how it works until you try it… (brilliant answer!)

Peter Broderick by Adrian Bischoff.

What are your plans for 2012?
2012 is a slowing-down year for me. I’ll be taking a break from touring, spending more time at home in Berlin, releasing this project which I’ve been working on for quite a while and following the progress (or anti-progress) of this album and website… and I’m trying to pay more attention to my body, which needs some love after these years of sitting in cars and planes and trains, carrying heavy equipment in and out of buildings, and eating different foods all the time. One goal I have for this year is to finally learn how to speak German! fingers crossed.

http://www.itstartshear.com is due for release on Bella Union on 20th February 2012.

We’ve been following David Longshaw’s career since we spotted him at Fashion Scout back in 2010. His work continues to evolve in intriguing directions, utilising his illustration and animations skills more than ever before…

We last spoke to you in 2010, what have been the biggest changes since then?
I’m now selling in Harrods as well as more shops in a variety of countries.

What was the inspiration behind Father Said, your S/S 2012 collection, and where does the accompanying story come from? (it’s quite dark!)
I created the story a few years ago for TANK magazine – but never used it for a collection. This season felt like the perfect time to use it and develop the characters. The story is a bit dark – but I think it can be fun to have a dark inspiration from time to time for something as frivolous and light as fashion – I like the contradiction. Here’s the story:

Father said it would have been… by David Longshaw
Father said it would be nice to go to the seaside. I’m not sure mother would have agreed; here I go getting all Alan Bennett. It wasn’t Alan Bennett like at all. That’s why I brought you here, a little nostalgic trip for me, unchartered territory for you. I was driving of course. Well you’d come to see me hadn’t you?
I didn’t expect it to happen. You know I didn’t. I hadn’t planned it. I mean I was all tired out from the drive. It was just these memories coming back that did it. I hadn’t told you about them had I?
“We could go round the castle you said,” but then we spied the purveyor of local delicacies and were ensnared by the intoxicating aroma.
Well, it would have been rude not to.

Monies were exchanged and we floated out on the emerald green sea of tiles, shimmering from the hedgehog that had just mopped them. It was you who pointed out she was a hedgehog- all little and bristly and nose twitching as she mopped that chip shop floor; scared by the preying silver fox in the corner (Trevor they called him from over the counter) with his suave, debonair mask- under which lurked a wild, preying animal ready for its next victim. At least that’s how he looked, sitting, pouting but that gentle trickle of saliva and the abstract motif that speckled his jacket- formed from chips and gravy, suggested otherwise.
We did laugh about that, chuckling, as you do, walking towards the sea. You spotted that sign, “Boat Trip to Puffin Island.” £4.50 each, but it was worth it. We saw seals, and jellyfish and went up really close to the island and there were so many little birds. I’m not sure if there were any puffins though, you said you’d seen one but that was you all over.
I’m sorry the rest of the day didn’t pan out quite as well for you. It’s just these memories coming back. Now I think of it, I was reading a book at the time with a puffin mentioned in it, so perhaps that’s what it was.
I’m awfully sorry all the same. Anyway not much I can do now other than tidy things up I suppose. Well there you go. You’re wrapped up now. It was handy I had that spade in the boot wasn’t it. I’ll just cover you up- the soil will keep you warm.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

David Longshaw S/S 2012 by Janneke de Jong.

Putting it together was tricky as I’d never done it before and I thought it would be fun to do it all myself from a series of my illustrations (apart from the voice over which I got Jessica Bumpus to do). I did it using a very old mac – which seemed a good idea at the time until it became apparent that it was so old it wasn’t compatible with any others, or with upload programs to put it on Vimeo… which was unfortunate. But after a lot of pfaffing around I finally managed to get it on there and now it’s linked to my website as well. In the short term I’m planning to work on more short animations to develop with my collections. At some point in the future I would like to work on a more ambitious project with a much larger animation – perhaps even a stop motion model animation But I’d need a larger budget and a lot more time.

Why are narratives important?
Narratives help create the theme and tone of the collection – they inform everything from print and silhouette to the colour of the fabrics.

What was the inspiration behind the extravagant silhouettes in the S/S 2012 collection?
The idea was from the point in the story where Sophie accidentally kills her boyfriend, buries him, planting flowers over his burial place. The flowers grow and flow in to the dress she’s wearing. For the rest of her life she wears a flower to remind her of him. I wanted to convey the sense of the flowers growing and taking over what the wearer has on.

David Longshaw S/S 2012 by Janneke de Jong.

How did your time at Max Mara equip you for working as an independent designer, and do you have any tips for those just starting out?
My time at both Max Mara and Alberta Ferretti was really useful for starting my own label – aesthetically my style (and indeed the style of the other labels) are very different, but in a way that works out better than if I was just doing a smaller version of either label. Day to day there are things I put in to practice that I learnt there. When you work for big fashion houses you get to see how very successful businesses and design houses work and what’s helped them to get there. But there’s always things you think you would do differently as well.

For people just starting out it’s good to get as much experience in the industry as possible, whether it’s from work experience, or actually designing for a label – if you want to start your own label straight away then try to get as much business advice as you can. Design schools teach how to pull a collection together but you have to know how to be a business person – if you don’t then you won’t have the money or the structure to be able to continue. It’s also really important to think what you want your label to be like – what’s your point of difference and what do you think you can do better than is already out there. It’s good to be aware of all the pitfalls with running your own label: financial, emotional, time constraints, constantly questioning yourself, knowing all the things that can go wrong, all the reasons not to do your own label… Then just go for it anyway!

David Longshaw S/S 2012 by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs.

You are not just a fashion designer but also an accomplished illustrator, how do the two fit together?
They go well together – I use my illustrations in the prints of my collection. Both my design and illustration work inspire each other. When I illustrate for a mag it’s a fun way for people to see my work and see which other designers I like (as I get to select who I interview or illustrate) and it gives people another window in to my thinking. Then when I’m designing I think back to my illustration work and why I selected certain designers/pieces. I’m not trying to be like another designer but it makes me reflect on why I would choose one designer’s work over another.

How do your partnerships with footwear designer Heather Blake and milliner Katherine Lee work? What is the process of working together on a collection?
With Katherine Lee we work together throughout the season on different projects for the collection – from looking and reviewing the collection’s designs and progress to specific pieces she creates for me. With Heather we look at my designs and work out what would be cool to go with them – what elements we can bring out from the clothes and in to the shoes.

David Longshaw S/S 2012 by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs.

You also collaborate with girlfriend (and another Amelia’s Mag favourite) Kirsty Ward. How was the Christmas break with the Longshaw Wards? Did you do anything fun?
Christmas was great: there was a Maude fairy on top of the tree – there was still some pfaffing around with fabrics and pens (aka work) but also lots of fun – road trips to visit our families and friends. Then on New Year’s Eve we had a studio party in London and had some friends over.

What can we expect from A/W 2012? any tips?
More Maude: this season Maude’s taken over my collection and mashed it up with her own style… so basically she’s covered most of it with herself – from prints to bags, to scarves, to products…

Make sure you also check out our previous interview with David Longshaw here.

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.

All photos provided courtesy of Rebecca J Coles

Where did you grow up, and are there aspects of your childhood which you see as being influential on your work?
I was born in Bath, we moved to Yorkshire a few years later until I was ten, and then returned to Wiltshire which is where I grew up. The only aspect from my childhood which I can see as being influential to my work is that I was always creative as a child. My mother was an infant school teacher and very artistic, so it was natural to be making something whether it was a den in the garden or cutting out paper and making collages.

You now live in Frome, Somerset – what is it like to be living and working as an artist there?
Frome is a wonderful town, and is quite the creative hub. There are artists of all disciplines, musicians and writers who live here, and we are lucky enough to have two theatres, the Black Swan Arts and Rook Lane Arts, both of which continually host new exhibitions, the artisan market that is held monthly, along with independent boutique shops which all make the town quite special, encouraging a genuine interest in the artistic field.

With a Masters in Constructed Textiles from the Royal College of Art, London and a specialisation in woven textiles, how did your studies inform your later work?
In response to my current work, a friend from the Royal College of Art said ‘well that makes sense‘. Referring to the comparison in that my work is still labour intensive and repetitive. As a weaver, threading the loom was a process you either enjoyed or hated. I loved the process. It was somewhat therapeutic, even though viewed as tedious, and that repetitive notion is ever apparent in my current paper art… cutting out hundreds, if not thousands of butterflies, then pinning them, then positioning them onto their specific heights on the pins, and then positioning them on the board where they will stay.

How would you describe what you do as an artist?
I’m an artist who creates paper assemblages which are encased in box frames. I focus on the reinvention of entomological cataloguing, display and the play of shapes.

Previously, you have mentioned your fascination with the process by which three-dimensional forms materialise from flat sheets of paper – can you tell us more about this transformation? And how did you decide on paper as your medium of choice?
Using paper was such an intuitive decision. It is such a malleable medium, and the childhood practice of folding a piece of paper in half and cutting out a butterfly to show symmetry seemed apt when experimenting for my current work. I used to cut out sections of my sketch books at college, and became interested in seeing how you, as the viewer, can be made to observe something that’s not actually there, or focusing on a small section of the overall image which becomes a different when it’s dissected. Using pages from magazines became quite integral to my work….

Tell us about the process of creating your pieces, are they carefully planned with distinct stages, or do they come together organically?
It depends! Some are very much planned from the colour palette, size and shape, and the end result depicts the original idea. Others are organic. Most start with a colour story….I collect the paper to be used, and then start cutting out the butterflies. I then decide whether I think the butterflies should be positioned on the base, or at the top of the pins, and then I start to build the piece. If I am creating a series of work, such as ‘Stamps’, because they require butterflies of all shapes and sizes, I may spend a week solely cutting them out, to then create the pieces later.

Butterflies feature across the art of many cultures – how did you come to choose them as one of the focuses of your work, what do they symbolise for you?
I’m afraid they don’t symbolise anything for me apart from being a beautiful silhouette to work with. I used to work in a boutique that sold feathered butterfly garlands, so when I started to cut out paper, I started cutting out an incredibly naive butterfly silhouette… and when I returned to this idea, I started to focus on their true shape.

Your pieces are obviously delicate, involving a great deal of repetition and close attention to detail – what are the challenges associated with this, and how do you manage?
I once suffered with RSI (repetitive strain injury) which made me realise that I must alternate my work and that I can’t cut out all the time for long periods of time. I just alternate the processes of my work now.

Are there any particular artists whose work you admire or turn to for inspiration?
Artists I admire would include Wycliffe Stutchbury and Helen Beard. I wish I had her illustrative skills…..

You have exhibited extensively throughout the UK over the past year. How did you begin exhibiting your work and what have been some of the highlights?
I approached a gallery in Bath who accepted my work, and have continued to showcase my art since. I then exhibited at Origin (the Contemporary Craft Fair in London) last year which led a lot of galleries approaching me. I was fortunate enough to have the London gallery, Mark Jason, select some of my work to take to the art fairs, which has been great.

Do you have a particular goal or hope for the pieces you produce?
My only goal is to continue selling my work, and that I continue to push forward my ideas. I hope to work on a much larger scale whether it be framed pieces or an installation piece.

Are you able to share with us any plans for 2012?
I am hoping to exhibit in Australia earlier this year, which would be a great opportunity to showcase my work internationally…. and I do have several ideas for new work….so watch this space….

Visit Rebecca’s website www.rebeccajcoles.co.uk for further details.

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.

Anthony Hartley Edna drawer unit.

You launched your latest colourful range at Tent London in 2011, what was the response and what have you been up to since then?
The response I got at tent was slightly overwhelming to be honest, the reactions and comments were all very positive. The thing I liked the most about Tent London was the different crowds over the four days, but the best was the students’ day; the genuine reaction of the enthusiastic and relatively non-cynical youth just can’t be matched.

Anthony Hartley Edna close up.

You describe yourself as a ‘jumped-up joiner‘ which is a pretty fabulous term. Where did you grow up and how did you learn to design furniture? Was it something that fascinated you from a young age and if so why?
The ‘jumped-up joiner’ thing comes from the mixed feelings of pride and yet utter frustration at being a joiner fitting kitchens and laying floors while yearning to have my own workshop and make the furniture that I had been creating in my head for years. After mentioning this in a conversation to a group of site workmen one particularly sarcastic sparky turned round and said ‘Who does he think he is, the bloody jumped-up joiner?‘ I think it was very soon after that when I started my three years at Leeds College of Art and Design where I had the time a resources to explore my ideas.

Anthony Hartley Frank and Mrs Frank.

You only went to art college in 2000, many years after starting to design furniture, how has this influenced your design process since and what did you do in the intervening years before launching your own range in 2010?
From leaving college to getting the workshop took almost another 7 years joinery work to achieve and is still an ongoing thing as I am currently on the the move again to the third (and hopefully final) workshop in 4 years. The choice of machinery (traditional salvaged machines from the mills of the Pennines) comes from the need for reliable, robust yet affordable and easy maintenance pieces of kit that will go on and on for years.

Anthony Hartley Mr Smith the Second chair.

Your signature piece is Mr Smith the Second. which I understand is inspired by the iconic stripes so beloved of Paul Smith. Are you a Paul Smith fan when it comes to dressing? And have you had any response from Paul Smith himself?
Mr Smith was a development of the original Frank chair (inspired by the architect Frank Gehry), the response I got was mainly ‘Is that a Paul Smith chair?‘ so I decided to go with it, you never know, it may get noticed by the man himself and generate a sale at least! As to buying his tailoring?? If only!! I’d need a few more orders for Mr Smith to be able to afford it.

What is the design and making process that goes into your furniture and what inspires your bright and beautiful colour palette?
The design and making process is one of trial and error: models, drawings and full size mock ups. The use of colour is a personal thing and no matter how I try it always comes creeping back in the end. Used in the right way, colour can do wonderful things to a piece of furniture and transform and lift something very mundane into something pretty spectacular, whether it be a single colour or a combination.

Anthony Hartley Sidney shelf.

What can your fans expect in 2012? any exciting new pieces you’d like to unveil?
2012 brings a range of furniture that is very simplistic and more geared towards CNC manufacture than anything I have designed before, prototypes are in place and ready to go as we speak!! So watch this space!!

Goodbye Bangkok was one of those wonderful surprises that landed in my musical inbox late last year. From first single Train to Penang – a mournful tune backed by a full orchestra – to the twinkling horns and swooping cellos of Welcome, the album is an elegiac treasure chest of unusual tunes inspired by Richard Gilbert’s occasionally difficult time in Thailand. Despite harrowing subject matter there is real beauty in this collection; highlights include the duelling banjos that introduce love song The Fool, and a husky male voice submerged by honeyed female vocals in Voodoo Doll. Every song is an unexpected delight. A real find of 2011.

Your debut album came out last September, what has been the reaction? Any pleasant or unusual surprises?
Well, it has all been pleasant really in that it reached a couple of places I never expected it would – BBC 6 Music has played tracks off it a few times and Clint Boon of XFM made it his featured album of the day, which was very nice, as is he. It was a pleasure to simply be in touch with a pop star that features in my own record collection! I originally intended to record this album with my musical ‘other half’, Simon Andrew, and not promote it at all. It was just for our own enjoyment. It was intended to be a download only release with no marketing at all. We were artists in the purest sense! No bullshit, just the music. I still don’t feel comfortable pairing the 2 activities together. So it was my intention to leave it sitting there in cyberspace, ready for any random passersby to enjoy or not enjoy. Anyway, in the 11th hour, my arm was twisted, partly by me, into doing more of the promo work. And I started to enjoy it because it gave birth to Mollusc Records that I set up with a few mates and off we went. There is more to nurture now than just Lymes. The most pleasing thing for me is that, for those that have bought / received a copy of the album, they talk about the lyrics first of all. I was very anxious about the lyrics. They needed to be interesting and not vague because I knew I wanted to explore songs with upfront vocals and in a talking style.

Lymes – The Fool by Abi Hall.

What was the name of the band that you were in during the 90s? And why did you decide to go it alone for awhile?
I was in a noisy band called The Mandelbrot Set. Loads of wah wah and distortion. I packed it in because we had not written any good songs for a few months. I was too impatient. And when I left the band, I realised I had a huge void in my life. I had no job, no degree. So off I went to get the quickest degree I could and then to Thailand, which certainly filled my life with colour.

Be My Dead Wife

The subject matter was inspired by your personal encounters whilst living in Thailand…. how did these find their way into a musical format?
This was a key concern for me. The music was writing itself nicely, with my multi-instrumentalist partner Simon and me with the recording gear. The songs were stockpiling with mumbled vocal takes and no finished lyrics. I needed a theme for inspiration and when I wrote one set of lyrics about Thailand, Be My Dead Wife, I was really happy with them. And I was able to write a set of lyrics very quickly. Often in one sitting. I was also very keen on storytelling in music as opposed to nebulous lyrical imagery, where the singer is another instrument…..I spent a lot of time listening to Johnny Cash whilst out there. This probably opened my mind to storytelling.

What prompted the move to Thailand in the first place? You were there for 6 years which is a long time… can you tell us about some of your more interesting experiences? How did you stay alive, ie what was your work during that time?
As I said above, the big void left by not being in a band led me out of the country. It was supposed to be Argentina but I followed a mate to Bangkok after we did a TEFL course. I started off teaching English but quickly moved into market research in the grocery industry. Zzzzz. Some stories are in the album and the lyrics are all printed in the cover sheet. And there is no flowery stuff going on. Very direct I think. In addition to these? I have written a few things down here and deleted them. Sorry! It’s the usual stuff you would expect to see in Thailand; drugs, corruption, passport dealing, working without work permits, vehicle smuggling and ringing, prostitution, tourists and fresh expats getting duped, loutish behaviour, boiler rooms, grotesque sex shows (anybody care to see a go-go dancer shaking a coke bottle, sticking it up her bum, bending over and spraying the audience? No, thought not.), endless road traffic accidents and most sadly, child trading /smuggling. This is something that I could not put on the album. Although the lyrics are observational. the delivery and music add the appropriate vibe. I doubt I’d ever finish it if that were the story. To summarise, a sleezy English chap ran an English Language school but was also allegedly buying children from Orphanages on spec and selling them to Chinese people that were not able to have their own children. At least that is what I was told by others that knew him better than I. To just know the face and name of someone that might get involved in that troubles me. Writing songs about how great the food is and how lovely the people are doesn’t seem to work as well lyrically. But the food is amazing and the people are lovely!

Lymes by Rosemary Cunningham.

You have said that songs start life in your phone voicemail at about 6am in the morning. Is that because you phone yourself in a half asleep slumber? Has this occurred under any strange circumstances, or in a strange place?
Kind of! I often wake up with song parts going through my head. I am usually convinced they are someone else’s. I sing them into my own voicemail before I forget them, so yes I am barely awake when it happens and then I ask everyone later if they recognise it…… the cellos on Welcome, for example, came about in this way, as did the violins on Voodoo Doll.

Welcome

Voodoo Doll

Lymes – Wind Chimes by Jardley Jean-Louis.

Your first live performance was with the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra in October, which is quite a major deal! How did that come about? Any special things you had to adapt when performing with such a large amount of musicians?
That was the hardest gig I ever did. First gig with Lymes and my first gig since the 90s. I wanted to do something special, not just play the local clubs. And several Lymes songs had orchestral parts in them that would have left the song bare without orchestral instruments. We started planning this show 3 years ago. It is really tough getting people to come together for your music when you have hardly any money. But the Hull Phil were really nice people to work with and it certainly opened everyone’s eyes seeing the 2 genres coming together when no one had done anything like it before. We ended up with a chamber orchestra of around 22 players. It was a great success in the end. Amazing really, because we had to manage the show ourselves and many things were going wrong, increasingly so on gig day….. and we were trying to focus on the music.

Lymes by Geiko Louve.

Who else is Lymes?
Ah. I’m glad you asked about that. Simon is the other one and the musical backbone to this album. He has a lever arch file with hundreds of songs in it and we still have not gone through them all to see which ones need to be worked on. The 2 best songs on the album are The Fool and Train To Penang. He wrote the music for both of them. He is a very good drummer, a good keyboard player and a competent guitarist. There is also musical pedigree in his family. His brother is perhaps my favourite drummer of all time and had some success with Kingmaker in the early 90s.

The Fool

Train To Penang

My favourite story about Simon is that, while watching his brother having a really good time in Kingmaker, opportunity knocked on his door in the shape of an invitation to a drumming audition for a World Party tour in America. And he turned it down because he thought their music was boring!

When can people next see you live, and are you doing any festivals next summer?
We are planning another big show, this time with a gospel choir. We just need to find one that will not be too concerned about the lyrical content and lack of Jesus worship in our songs. We are also waiting to hear if we are on the bill for the Great Escape festival in Brighton in May. Fingers crossed on that one.

Goodbye Bangkok is out now on Mollusc Records.

Goodbye Bangkok

From the enigmatic thump of Arcade to the Japanese inflected strings of Healer, murmuring beats of Lake Autumn and blissed out vocals of White Cloud, Terracotta Blue impresses with new album Takoma Park. Read on to find out more about the enigmatic Jay…

Arcade

Who is Terracotta Blue, and what does the project encompass? I understand that Terracotta Blue is just one of 5 aliases – what else do you do?


I would say that Terracotta Blue is an outlet for my more melancholy, electro-inspired endeavours. And there’s absolutely no back story or special meaning to the name; I just thought it sounded cool! 

I dabble in all sorts of genres – essentially anything that has alot of samples, synths, and hard drums. Yes, I release music under four other aliases (which includes Electronic Dance Music and hip-hop), but I’ll keep that under wraps… at least for now. I can say with certainty is Terracotta Blue is not a side project of any popular superproducer/DJ. I’m just a guy trying to make a living off of his music like countless others out there. The anonymity thing just adds to the mystique.


Terracotta Blue by Gareth A Hopkins.

You’ve drawn comparisons to the oh so trendy chillwave trend as well as ambient, synth-pop and hip hop, what do you think best describes your music?
I’m a fan and listener of everything you just listed, but I would say that hip-hop is the one constant that ties everything together. From the use of sampling to the grittiness you hear in many of my tracks, the hip-hop influence is undeniable. I’m also fascinated by the inherent freedom electronic music allows me, in all its forms. So I’d best describe my music as sample-based, hiphop-tinged, electro chill music. Hopefully people will just regard it as good music.

Healer

Terracotta Blue – Healer by Rukmunal Hakim.


How did you get into music, and where did you learn how to play?
I played the saxophone and trumpet in the 4th and 5th grades, respectively. But it wasn’t until I tape recorded myself playing on this Radio Shack keyboard that I became truly fascinated by the synthesis of sounds. I eventually started experimenting by pause-mixing beats on karaoke machines and then recording drums machines and samples on 4-track recorders. I bought my first ‘real’ piece of equipment—the MPC2000XL—in 2000. Then in 2005 I was introduced to Reason and FL Studio software—I’ve used the same programs ever since.


What inspired the creation of new album Takoma Park? What were you doing at the time, and what subjects and ideas suffuse the songs?


My music reflects the changing of the seasons, and it’s been like that for as far back as I can remember. I’m thankful to be living in an area of the states where there’s so much contrast between the seasons. Takoma Park was definitely inspired by the sights and sounds of my favorite time of the year—autumn. There was nothing particularly interesting happening in my life during the making of that album; I just wanted to present the sounds I was hearing in my head at the time.

Lake Autumn

Terracotta Blue – Equinox by Jacqueline Valencia.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? What have your roots brought to your music?
I grew up right outside of Washington, D.C., in Silver Spring, Maryland—that’s where I live now. D.C. is known for its percussion-heavy funk music called go-go, but I was honestly never really into it growing up. I was that kid sitting quietly in the corner bobbing his head with big headphones on and a backpack full of hip-hop cassettes and CDs.

What next for Terracotta Blue? Any special releases or free downloads that you would like to share with my readers?
I just released my new single Arcade b/w Healer, available for free download on my bandcamp page, where you’ll also find One Million Sunsets and Takoma Park. I’ll probably release another free EP in the spring and aim for an iTunes full length release in late summer, early autumn. I would also love to collaborate with more artists in the near future, so hopefully I can make that happen in 2012!

White Cloud