It was a delight to find this in my inbox last week - MF Tomlinson is
back with the soundtrack for our times - Everything is Cancelled. The
lyrically clever and amusing track pokes some much needed fun at the
situation, and is *very* relatable. The first track from the
(equally-poignantly-named) EP Strange Time, due on 2nd October, this is
the first of a string of releases that he is sharing on
Bandcamp Fridays, from which the proceeds will be donated to people and
industries affected by the virus. For now, funds are going to London's superb
independent music venue The Lexington - download the track
here.
Over to MF Tomlinson...
"I was unable to let go of the pace of life before the lockdown and threw
myself into frantically documenting the situation [...] Writing songs gives
me purpose - my other therapy at that point was learning the saxophone. I
did manage to do a bit of saxophone practice but that was quickly (and
justifiably) veto’d. I decided I was going to go folk - that just made
sense. [...] This song is full of jokes, trying to put on a brave face
in a time where things seemed scary. [...] It’s also touching on the hope
that as a society we might learn from the mistakes that contributed to this
crisis and try do things differently, which at this stage isn’t looking
likely."
On the process behind the track, he explains that
"I reached out to all of my collaborators, we would normally work on stuff
together in the studio. Instead I sent the skeleton of a song out and a
rough demo of the part, they as usual sent back pure gold.
Alistair Welsh did the amazing horn arrangement you hear on this song
- he’s on the trombone, and that’s Ben Manning on the double bass. I
love that this is a big band in isolation - the tuba, clarinet etc all in
separate people's bedrooms! Arie van der Poel took these bedroom
recordings and mixed and moulded them into something amazing. He flew out to
New Zealand just before the lockdown so we’d talk nights and early mornings.
He’s amazing and his contribution here can’t be understated. I’m especially
grateful to artist Chiara Baima Poma who sent this beautiful painting
from her home in the Canary Islands. I strongly feel that music is better
when it’s made together. One of the best things about the project was making
contact with all the contributors, catching up on how they were. When I was
stuck at home and after returning to work, it got me through the stress and
made me feel connected."
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