Friday 28 June 2019

WATCH: Ferris & Sylvester - 'Flying Visit'

Really love these guys. Having recently played the top slot at a Bushstock stage, Ferris & Sylvester are currently in the Glastonbury fields and are playing five slots across the weekend. It's been a busy year for the band with tours and new music aplenty, and they've just shared a video for recent single Flying Visit. The video, showing the duo performing to an empty village hall, mirrors the themes of loneliness and isolation that flow through the lyrics of the song, where they sing "please don't leave me, down here, on my own" (in gorgeous harmony, of course.)

The band describe that as they'd been touring the track for song, it "felt right to do a performance based piece. Simple and straightforward, in a run-down village hall. We wanted to let the song speak. We teamed up with Sam Parish-Rookes once again for this one and as always with Sam, the process from the storyboard to the final edit has been a total journey and loads of fun. We are so proud to have made a piece like this." 


After some upcoming festival slots, the band have a 20-date UK tour coming up later in the year - check out their website for tickets, dates below!

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford
4th: The Horn, St Albans
5th: Omeara, London
16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford
18th: Metronome, Nottingham
19th: Green Door Store, Brighton
20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle
22nd: Stereo, Glasgow
23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh
25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  
27th: Phase One, Liverpool
29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds
30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester
3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells
4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)
8th: Old Bakery, Truro
9th: Phoenix, Exeter

Follow Ferris & Sylvester - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Thursday 27 June 2019

TOUR NEWS: Dawes (Oct/Nov 2019)

Alongside news of a new Friendly Fires album, Monday was made pretty sweet with news of a run of European dates from my favourite guys Dawes. They'll be passing through Spain, Switzerland and Germany before shows in London (4th Nov), Manchester (5th) and Glasgow (6th) delivering a range of their 'Greatest Hits' (all of them, I hope!) Their last London shows will be almost exactly three years previous so it's a very exciting announcement! Tickets go on sale tomorrow (28th) morning at 10AM here.


Follow Dawes online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Wednesday 26 June 2019

WATCH: Leif Vollebekk - 'Hot Tears'

Let me introduce Leif Vollebekk - the Montreal artist is a new name to me, but I'm falling for his recent single Hot Tears pretty quickly. It's the first track to be taken from his upcoming record New Ways, which is due for release on November 1st via Montreal indie label Secret City Records. Pre-order and pre-save here.

He explains that the track was written "when my senses were much more focused and I saw colours more vividly. The sky often looked like it could have easily been pulled from scenes of [Terrence Malick's] The Tree of Life. It was the last song I wrote for the record. It was all recorded live: vocals, drums and piano. I wanted this song to sound as hot and rough as possible and make the lyrics fight their way through." 

The accompanying video was directed by Kaveh Nabatian, with Leif explaining "for months I had been imagining a video with golden light pouring out behind a silhouette when the minor chord hit. Kaveh introduced me to Axelle Munezero and she moved the way I heard the music [...] when I saw Axelle's choreography for the first time, I was blown away." 


The album announcement brings with it a run of dates in support of the release, including a European tour opening up for fellow Montreal act Half Moon Run (who are a ridiculously talented bunch!) - tickets and dates here.

Follow Leif Vollebekk - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Tuesday 25 June 2019

ALBUM NEWS: Friendly Fires - 'Inflorescent'

It is no exaggeration to say that I have been waiting for this news for years. Since their return at the end of 2017 and finally getting to see them play live last April, Friendly Fires have been teasing us with a couple of incredible new singles in the shape of Love Like Waves and Heaven Let Me In. The wait is finally over. New album Inflorescent, the follow up to 2011 (!!) record Pala is due for release  on 16th August and there is another cracking new single to sink your teeth into. Here's Silhouettes...


Pre-order the record here, and check out the band's site for upcoming festival appearances, including Glastonbury and Citadel.

Follow Friendly Fires - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Monday 24 June 2019

WATCH: Dizzy - 'Twist'

Happy Monday! The absolute heroes Dizzy have shared a wonderful new video for recent single Twist. Featuring vocalist Katie Munshaw performing alongside bandmates Charlie, Alex and Mackenzie and a group of dancers, the video is a beautiful accompaniment to the track, which they released just over a month ago. It's somehow made me fall for them more than I already had. Katie explains that the track is about "missing someone so badly that you see them places and get really excited, and then realise it's not them. It's about the hold someone can have over you even after they've left your life." The track is taken from an EP due sometime this Summer, so keep an ear out for that!


Follow Dizzy - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Friday 21 June 2019

LISTEN: Seramic - 'Angeline'

Seramic is back with a new track. All of the yes. I absolutely adore this one! The project, fronted by Marcus Foster, released the much quieter tune Keep On Breaking My Heart earlier in the year. Their second release of the year, Angeline arrives in contrast to the earlier track, and brings ALL of the funk we've come to expect from Marcus & co.

Talking about the track, he explains that "we hear one side of a conversation from a character phoning an old flame after some time apart. Finally he can articulate all the things that he could never possible say before, admitting all of his mistakes and asking for her help. But the audience never hears her side of the story, begging the question - is this real or imagined?" 



Follow Seramic online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Thursday 20 June 2019

WATCH: Cosmo Sheldrake - 'Egg and Soldiers'

If you know anything about this blog you'll know I don't need much of an excuse to share something Cosmo Sheldrake related... but a new video seems a pretty good reason! Egg and Soldiers is taken from Cosmo's gorgeous (and gorgeously bonkers) debut album The Much Much How How And I which was released last April. The new animated video has been put together by May Kindred-Boothby, Zita Baynes and Rob Wills.


If you're in London and like what you're hearing you should most definitely get yourself along to Cosmo's only UK show of the year at Oval Space on 10th July. Tickets are available here but be quick - they will sell out!

Follow Cosmo Sheldrake - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: THANDII - 'Tides'

With their Serious Town EP due for release on July 5th, Margate duo Thandii have shared the third and final single, Tides. The track has been described as a tribute to climate activist Greta Thunberg with a nod towards her work in raising awareness of climate change. Themes of guilt flow through the lyrics, but it's hard to feel completely out of hope with Jess's silky smooth vocals.


You can pre-save the Serious Town EP here - it's due out July 5th.

Follow Thandii - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Wednesday 19 June 2019

LISTEN: Franc Moody - 'Dream In Colour'

All of my synth dreams came true last week with new Low Island, BE GOOD and Franc Moody tracks all being released. The latter followed up a recent announcement of some European tour dates in October with their second single of the year, Dream In Colour. I fell in love with the band when they opened for Friendly Fires last year and they've yet to disappoint, and I'm loving this one. I can see it going down very well live!


For those of us in the UK, you can catch the band opening for Parcels (a bit of a dream line-up!) at Somerset House on 18th July - tickets here. Very very tempted by this one!

Follow Franc Moody - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Tuesday 18 June 2019

WATCH: Bess Atwell - Ventnor Villas

I shared the gorgeous Bess Atwell EP at the end of May and wrote about how in awe I was of it... that continues to be the case with the equally enchanting video for the EP closing track, Ventnor Villas. Speaking of the track, Bess said that it "portrays the dynamics of an old relationship shifting into something new. The song sways between moments of clarity and moments of specific nostalgia. It's a love song about not longer being "in love". Every other song on the record is off balance, putting most of the emphasis on somebody else - I like to think Ventnor Villas is about regaining some of that back."



With a few festival slots still to play, Bess has a UK headline tour coming up in October, dates below and tickets here!

7th October: Bodega, Nottingham
8th: Broadcast, Glasgow
10th: Omeara, London
11th: Soup Kitchen, Manchester
12th: Louisiana, Bristol
13th: Hope and Ruin, Brighton

Follow Bess Atwell - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Monday 17 June 2019

LISTEN: Honey Moon - 'Magic'

New Honey Moon - yes! Magic is their latest release through indie tastemakers Heist or Hit. With the crooning vocals of frontman Jack Slater Chandler and that trademark nostalgic sound it's another gloriously strong release from the London five-piece. Harmonies and strings elevate this one - it's something rather special!

Talking about the track, Jack describes that the band "wanted to explore the illusionary theme, to try and make something expansive and cinematic-sounding. 'Magic' represents the soul-mate style love we see in film, literature, Honey Moon songs - everywhere! What can seem like the most mundane, everyday elements of companionship are often the most important and overlooked. This sort of souped-up version of having 'one true love' is, whilst a nice idea, pretty difficult to imagine as anything that's realistically achievable, but there's something very real in the sentiment, and that's the 'spell', that's the illusion."



Follow Honey Moon - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Friday 14 June 2019

LISTEN: BE GOOD - 'God Of Nowhere' EP

I really really really love this band. Oxford quartet BE GOOD have today shared their God Of Nowhere EP. As silky smooth as ever in the lyrics, vocals and sounds, the EP features brand new track Cape Of Night alongside five (ace) previously released tracks from the last couple of years, bringing together their best work so far (all of it?) into a gorgeous release. A favourite for me has to be It's Cool But It Ain't You - I adore that song.



The opening track of the EP, its centre piece is the band's debut track Not Waking Up, originally released just over two years ago. The track has been given a new video featuring band members Ash Cooke (vocals, guitar), Charlie Clarke (drums), James Cunning (synths) and Patrick Burley (bass).

Talking of the track, Ash describes it as being "about the time I woke up on New Year's Day covered in soot because I'd slept in a fireplace at a house party - the prick who was having the party wouldn't let me sleep anywhere else. Crawling out of the fireplace the next day felt strangely like a rebirth [...] in the end the track ended up touching on themes of disconnection and renewal, but you can really just take it as a groggy party anthem for the sleep-deprived." 


Follow BE GOOD - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Low Island - 'Search Box'

Low Island are back, and as always they are absolutely killing it with their brand new track Search Box. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, the lyrics explore an array of repetitive and random questions that we might genuinely ask an online search engine - "is it OK if I never get married, is it OK if I never own a house, and is it OK if I'm not OK?" with the chorus telling us to "put it in a box, everything you're asking" pointing out our slightly ridiculous over-reliance on search engines for the most menial of questions. The lyrics are set alongside some glorious instrumentation that I can imagine going down an absolute treat at a Low Island gig.

The band have set up a search bot of their own for you to ask your questions to (in response to my "when will it stop raining" it told me "you don't need to worry about this" so fingers crossed... and lots of fun to be had!)


The band have a few festival slots coming up, including a couple of sets at Glastonbury and Latitude before heading back to London for a headline Low Island & Friends show at Electrowerkz on 6th November - tickets & full dates here.

Follow Low Island - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Thursday 13 June 2019

LISTEN: China Bears - 'Sunday'

Following their lively recent single Stay For Good, Somerset's China Bears are back with Sunday. Slower in pace to begin with, the track is a far more intimate and vulnerable release, building to a more energetic outro reminiscent of the likes of Dry The River and The National.

Guitarist Frazer explains that the track was "written about one particular Sunday afternoon. I had just moved away from home to university and became extremely isolated and insecure in myself and my abilities, and on that day it was a little too much. I think everyone goes through that feeling at some stage, circumstances cause friendships and relationships to change and you can feel like people aren't there for you anymore." 

"It's very honest and seems bleak but looking back I think it's quite hopeful. Its understanding I was struggling and being lucky enough to have someone there to confide in. I remember it being quite a quick writing process but it took a while with extensive sessions to get it sounding how it is now." 


Follow China Bears - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Say Yes Dog - 'Feel Better'

Fresh from supporting one of my favourite artists, Fil Bo Riva, on tour, German-Luxembourgish trio Say Yes Dog have shared the third single to be taken from their album Voyage, which is out now. Feel Better is a catchy slice of electro-pop, bringing 80s influences to the sound and video, which was directed by Adam Sait

Talking about the video, the band explain that “When we finished to produce ‘Feel Better’, we felt we needed a second layer to the upbeat vibe of the track to make it visually more fascinating. When we got Adam Sait on board to direct our video, he introduced to us the idea of turning the hook of the chorus into a liberating mantra, giving the song a more twisted take. [...] we let Adam follow his instinct and create an imagery for the song: the outcome is a silly, dopey representation of it. We feel that most of the time it is better and more natural not to take yourself too seriously rather than create an overly constructed vision of yourself and your song".


Follow Say Yes Dog - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Wednesday 12 June 2019

LISTEN: Christof van der Ven - 'A Darker Light'

Currently in the midst of a US tour as a member of Bear's Den, Holland born Christof van der Ven has just released the second track form his upcoming second album You Were The Place, due for release 6th September via Planet Zog Records. If his debut album and recent EP Beneath The Ordinary Load are anything to go by it's going to be something rather special.

Written and recorded over the three month period following the end of a brief and intense fling, the track is a melancholic reaction to the situation. Christof explains that it is "about a conversation that I had late at night with my mum after some wine. I was looking for an answer, a way out of the emotional mess I was in. She offered her wisdom and helped me get over that mental hurdle."


You can catch Christof at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton (7th October) and The Lexington in London (8th).

Follow Christof van der Ven - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Tuesday 11 June 2019

TOUR NEWS: Spector (Oct/Nov 2019)

Newsflash. Spector are back! They've just shared brand new single I Won't Wait and it is an absolute treat to have frontman Fred Macpherson's vocals back. There are some pretty relatable lyrics in the track as "I've been scrolling forever" leads into "why is my contract so expensive if our talk's so cheap?" Check it out below...


The track comes alongside the announcement of Spectour VIII, taking the band around the country in October and November. Tickets are on sale here now, dates below.

October

18th: Komedia, Brighton
19th: Five Degrees West, Falmouth
20th: The Junction, Plymouth
21st: The Fighting Cocks, Kingston
22nd: The Forum, Tunbridge Wells
23rd: The Boileroom, Guildford
25th: Moles Club, Bath
26th: Think Tank, Newcastle
27th: King Tut's, Glasgow
28th: Polar Bear, Hull
30th: 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff
31st: Club Academy, Manchester

November

1st: Phase One, Liverpool
2nd: The Bodega, Nottingham
4th: The Cookie, Leicester
5th: Picture House Social, Sheffield
6th: The Fulford Arms, York
7th Castle & Falcon, Birmingham
8th: The Empire, Coventry
9th: TBA, Lincoln
11th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge
12th: The Bullingdon, Oxford
13th: Oval Space, London

Follow Spector - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Monday 10 June 2019

LISTEN: Sonny Santos & Billie Marten - 'swear 2 g-d'

So this is a pretty special first single from London-via-New-York artist Sonny Santos, taken from his forthcoming debut album Hotel de Londres. The track is a duet with the impeccably talented British songwriter Billie Marten (who recently released her album Feeding Seahorses by Hand) and features Matt Ingram and Nick Pini of Laura Marling's band on drums and bass. With Sonny growing up between London and New York with a British father and an American mother, he sees his music as the memories of a man caught between, trying to find stability and trying to fit in.



Follow Sonny Santos Instagram.
Follow Billie Marten - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Friday 7 June 2019

WATCH: MF Tomlinson - 'Nature Boy'

MF Tomlinson's Nature Boy remains one of my favourite tracks to be released so far this year. I shared it here a few weeks ago and I'm delighted that it now has an equally glorious video to match. (For one: check out the outfits. Lovely.) Directed by Eddie van Whelan, the video draws on classic films like Vertigo and Don't Look Now to create a sinister feel, while the track is musically inspired by 1970s action greats. The song is written in reference to eden ahbez's Nature Boy in which he said that "the greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return." 

With the movie inspirations in tow, the video features some of Tomlinson's musical collaborators, notably flautist Ami Koda, and shows us some of his songwriting locations... including the Pacific Social Club, Cable St Studios, and his rooftop. It really is rather lovely. Did I say that already?   
 

With a recent sold out show at London's The Lexington to his name, MF Tomlinson is soon to support Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever at Village Underground on July 17th. Tickets on sale today here.

Follow MF Tomlinson - Facebook | Instagram.

TOUR NEWS: Ferris & Sylvester (Autumn 2019)

With a sold out headline tour across the country already under their belts earlier in the year, the magical Ferris & Sylvester have just announced a 20-date UK and Ireland headline tour through September and October. They'll follow up a string of festival slots at the likes of Bushstock, Glastonbury and Boardmasters from June to August with shows in Oxford, Brighton, London, Manchester and many (many) more. 2019 is looking to be a pretty sweet year for the duo who have also taken their gorgeous blend of blues, folk and Americana to SXSW, The Great Escape, on a support tour with Billy Lockett and recently on the Under The Apple Tree tour with Wildwood Kin. Check out this stunning Maida Vale session performance of recent single Sickness to see for yourself just how superbly talented the pair are (also - that harmonica!)


UK tour dates below - check out their website for tickets (on sale today!) and a list of their upcoming festival appearances.

September

3rd: Boiler Room, Guildford
4th: The Horn, St Albans
5th: Omeara, London
16th: Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
17th: The Bullingdon, Oxford
18th: Metronome, Nottingham
19th: Green Door Store, Brighton
20th: Think Tank?, Newcastle
22nd: Stereo, Glasgow
23rd: Mash House, Edinburgh
25th: Lost Lane, Dublin  
27th: Phase One, Liverpool
29th: The Wardrobe, Leeds
30th: The Portland Arms, Cambridge

October

1st: Deaf Institute, Manchester
3rd: Forum, Tunbridge Wells
4th: Frog & Fiddle, Cheltenham
6th: Sin City, Swansea (Fringe Fest)
8th: Old Bakery, Truro
9th: Phoenix, Exeter

Follow Ferris & Sylvester - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Thursday 6 June 2019

INTERVIEW: Joe Hicks (June 2019)

I've been wanting to start up interviews on the blog for a while and who better to be the first in over a year (oops!) than the lovely Joe Hicks. He recently shared his single Hollow and is touring with the equally wonderful Adam Barnes soon - I'll let him introduce himself!


Hello! First and foremost, for those who aren't (yet) familiar with your music, who is Joe Hicks? How would you describe your sound?

Hi Megan! Lovely to speak to you again! I’m a singer-songwriter from sunny Newbury in Berkshire. I’ve been releasing my music for just over 2 years now and I’d say my sound is kind of guitar led pop with bluesy/folky/indie tinges. Definitely a melting pot of my influences for sure. The main sound is electric guitar based, but I’ve also had a lot of fun arranging and releasing acoustic led versions of a lot of my songs to accompany the fuller band sounding recordings. 

With this in mind - who are your biggest influences? Anybody that we probably wouldn't expect?

How long have you got? Haha. Well it sounds cliché but my parents definitely subjected me to a lot of The Beatles and bands like Squeeze growing up, but also folk music from Fairport Convention to John Martyn. I also had a time of listening to heavier bands in my teens, but nowadays my main influences are anyone who’s done well at keeping the guitar at the forefront of great songwriting. People like John Mayer, Sting, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon. Then again the other day I wrote a chord progression on the back of hearing a Zara Larsson song so I don’t always look to the same sources. I think that’s what’s interesting about people making music over the past 5 years or so. Due to playlists and Spotify and all that, genre lines are completely blurred and we all listen to a multitude of different stuff and draw influence from wherever. Look at that new Bring Me The Horizon album. How do you pigeon hole that? It’s about 6 ‘genres’! 

You released the brilliant new track 'Hollow' last week, your second piece of new music for the year. I'm loving how relatable the track is, which seems to be a theme throughout your music. Is there anything that you can tell us about the writing and production process of the track? 

Thank you Megan! Really glad you are enjoying it :). I can’t say that I set out with the intention of making it relate I just tend to write from personal experience a lot of the time so it’s great to hear it can connect. Although the song is not necessarily about an ideal time in my life so I suppose part of me would love to hear that no one else can relate to that kind of experience. But if it can help those who can then that’s great! 

I wrote Hollow over about a week, just at home on an acoustic guitar. When I started to demo it was when I got the idea to add all the guitars playing 16ths to drive the chorus along. Then when I went into Studio 91 with Sam Winfield we tried to take it even further that way. I had that Friendly Fires song Jump in the Pool in my head as the direction I wanted to take all the percussion and everything, and I think we did well in achieving a similar vibe! My friend Ed Broad played the drums and he’s a mighty man behind the kit, especially his hi-hat work, so it all came together smoothly. 



As we (scarily) draw close to the halfway point of 2019, what are your plans for the rest of the year, musically? More singles? Or dare I hope... an EP?

You’re not wrong with ‘scarily’, I’m still saying Happy New Year to people.. Musically I’m sitting on a little bit more music to put out this year that I’m really excited about! It’s already been recorded and I’m hoping to put something out over the summer. Not sure whether I’ll culminate this years music into anything like an EP yet but we’ll see. I’m definitely keen to release something of a longer form soon having released a string of singles over the past year. Watch this space. 

Talking of the rest of the year... you've got some shows coming up with Adam Barnes in Oxford, Bath and Nottingham in June. Acoustic guitars, gorgeous harmonies and fantastic beards aside, what should we expect from the shows?

Well I have no plans or even biological ability to grow a good facial offering so the beards will be singular on that tour. Really excited to play with Adam again, he’s one of my best friends and we’ve been playing music together in various forms for about 7 years so it always feels very natural. At the Oxford show in particular we’ll both be bringing slightly bigger setups, but the other two shows will be two young bucks with our guitars playing our songs and trying to collaborate on each others stuff as much as possible! Well worth checking out the deer in the background of the tour poster. Possibly my finest photoshop moment to-date.

Is there anything else in the pipeline for the next few months? Any festivals coming up?

I’ve got quite a few shows coming up in June and over the rest of the summer. Readipop Festival on the 13th of July is going to be a lot of fun! They’ve done a lot to try and support artists from the local area, so it will be brilliant to be a part of that. I’m also playing in Southampton, London, Portsmouth, Devizes, Didcot, Bristol and Newbury currently, with more shows in the pipeline. Hopefully going to go back to Europe in the Autumn and do a bit more too. Details on all my confirmed shows can be found here.

Finally... here is your chance to recommend some music to me! I'm curious - what is in your headphones a lot at the moment? Lately I've been listening to a lot of Novo Amor in anticipation of his headline slot at Bushstock Festival in June, I can't recommend his debut album enough!

Oh awesome! I shall check him out. Definitely a name I’ve been seeing pop up a lot (perhaps a lot on your blog) so I’ll give him a go. I’d love to recommend something super cool but the reality is I’ve been listening to mixes of my next release a lot and very little else. I did however have Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head on super loud in the car driving back from Oxford the other night so I think everyone should go back and listen to that. 

If you want a more current answer I’d say you should check out the band LongDayLateNight from Newbury. Very good, lovely gents, annoyingly young. 

Follow Joe Hicks - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Wednesday 5 June 2019

LISTEN: I See Rivers - 'Helios'

Norwegian trio I See Rivers opened for Cosmo Sheldrake on his UK tour at the end of 2018 and their set at Earth Hackney was genuinely all kinds of wonderful. With an infectious energy the trio brought energy to the room with their fun melodies, gorgeous harmonies and endearing personalities. While adding tracks to my playlist on Friday I noticed that they'd just released a new track - Helios is taken from their forthcoming debut record, which they're recording this year with help from the PRS Women Make Music grant. Check out the track below...


Follow I See Rivers - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Tuesday 4 June 2019

WATCH: Fil Bo Riva - 'L'impossibile' (Mahogany Sessions)

It has been a while since I last posted a video from the lovely folk at Mahogany Sessions, so what better video to share than a recent session I'm a little in love with. If you've been following the blog for the last couple of years you'll know that I'm rather fond of Fil Bo Riva. After a couple of years of releasing singles and an EP he released his debut album Beautiful Sadness back in March (read my review here). For me, L'impossibile is a highlight of the record, with Fil moving seamlessly between auto-tuned verses in English and Italian choruses. In this session we're treated to an entirely stripped back version of the track, just Fil and a piano, showcasing the vocals beautifully.


Follow Fil Bo Riva - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

Monday 3 June 2019

LISTEN: Geowulf - 'I See Red'

Brilliant news - Geowulf are back with their first new track since debut album Great Big Blue, which was somehow released way back in February last year. I See Red is the first collaboration with the duo's new writing partner Justin Parker (Lana Del Rey, Bat For Lashes) with whom they've worked on several tracks from their upcoming second record My Resignation, due for release later in the year.


Front-woman Star Kendrick (Geowulf is Star and Tempesst frontman Toma Banjanin) explains that the new track was written after an argument with her sister. "The song was a realisation that you are only ever your most raw, horrible self when you're with the people you love to death and who love you." 

"I have been very proactive over many years in going to therapy, talking openly about mental health and have constantly taken steps to control emotions, moods and even my temper - having a family history of mental illness, this is something my siblings and I have had a lot of awareness about. This song is about that process and what I've learnt. The ebbs and flows of trying to be the best version of yourself." 

You can catch Geowulf headlining London's The Waiting Room on 11th June - tickets here.

Follow Geowulf - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.