Goodness. We've made it to June and I've only posted on the blog ten times this year. So much has been happening, and it is so difficult to find the time. I've spent much of May travelling on buses and trains to get to work. I promise I am always on the look out for new music, even if I've not been so great at sharing it here. As I am always saying however, I reaaaaaally want to write more. I have so much great music to share - and I really love flexing those writing muscles too.
Jumping in on a Sunday off work to share the latest from Hailaker. They're releasing third album Serenity Now on June 26th (a belated birthday present to me, very much appreciated) and Co-Star is the final single taken from it. Jemima and Ed are both brilliant on their own, but I have such a soft spot for this project and this track is no exception.
Writing about the new track on Instagram, they shared: "I’m realising there is a theme throughout the whole project, or more like a personality to it. It’s that of someone who sits somewhere in the middle of things, is unenthusiastic about doing anything, feels as though their life is hurtling past them and they can’t catch up with it, slightly and often overwhelmed with insecurity. Maybe what we (Hailaker) draw from is just snippets from that life and that personality, relationships, dreams, memories, tiredness, lots of tiredness ahaha.
Co-Star is a mantra to that life, the keeping going, riding the emotions. It expresses something near to a taoist philosophy: ‘it is what it is’… That maybe all this feeling of not being good enough just comes down to accepting and moving on. In that way Co-Star pinpoints the shift from the stories told in Holding to the ones of Serenity Now."
Picture the scene. You've been living under a rock, and somehow you missed the real beaaaaautiful return of Hailaker. Hey, you might even have somehow slept on Hailaker in the first place? Poor you. Fear not, I'm here to rectify that. The duo (brill artists Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett) just came back with Lorely, their first new music in almost three years (wild?!) and it is a pure delight. On repeat.
I should be getting to sleep, so... maybe that's all I have to say at the moment. They're brill - you should listen to them. Let me know when you do!
The concept of a long weekend when I've been off work for a few months is confusing to say the least. A lazy Easter Monday morning was had and I wasn't planning on posting anything here today... but I'm back off furlough in a couple of days so taking the chance to write while I still have it! Delighted to share this gorgeous new track from favourites of the blog Hailaker, who have partnered up with Wisconsin-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist S. Carey. I'm not familiar with Sean's solo music (yet) but most of you will certainly be fans of a project to which he has long contributed drums, keys and vocals... Bon Iver.
On the release, Hailaker (Ed Tullett and Jemima Coulter) share: "We're v excited to share 'Wavepool'. It was a dream and an absolute pleasure working with Sean, who we're both huge fans of. Wavepool is the first song we've ever worked on totally remotely and serves as a timestamp for us of this last year - it feels v good to release it!"
Very much a collective, Hailaker itself exists across countries - with Ed Tullett and Jemima Coulter working between Cardiff and Bristol, alongside Ali Lacey (Novo Amor) and Portland, Oregon-based collage artist Mike Roth, handling the project's artwork. This track coming together across the internet and a mere 4000 miles is therefore not so surprising. Produced in isolation with help from Ali, the track uses a trumpet sample left from recording sessions for the band's debut album, with Jemima and Sean's vocals wrapping beautifully around it and one another's. As dreamy and chaotic as you'd like a Hailaker tune to be.
Exciting news round-up time: Hailaker are working on their third album, while Jemima Coulter is finishing up her solo album - with singles expected later this year. Sean released a 10th anniversary deluxe edition of his S. Carey debut All We Grow in December, which you can check out here.
(more) albums of the year... part 2: in case you missed it, I'm sharing my favourite records of 2020 (main post here) this week. Seven albums a day across the week, in release order. Enjoy!
It feels like an absolute lifetime since this came out - a couple of weeks into lockdown here in the UK, back in April, at which point I was reading and listening to music, and doing little else. A brand new record from The Strokes... sign me up?! Seven (!) years since Comedown Machine, I feel like most fans probably approached this new record with a little trepidation, but it's a genuine delight. Most aptly named record on the list too, probably.
As far as surprise EP releases/album announcements go - I was pretty chuffed when, back in April, Hailaker surfaced with a four track EP. A week later, a second EP, and a week after that, we had the entire record. A short and sweet release cycle and the best surprise. I loved their self-titled debut last year and adore this follow-up. They're a really special bunch. Favourite tunes for me include Labradors, Caffeine Rivers, Attica and Wild (hey... all of it.)
Jack's return has been a musical highlight of the year. Following his critically acclaimed debut Phase in 2016 and extensive touring to support it, he'd been a little quiet on the music front. In February this year, he returned to BBC Radio 1 to premiere the first track from his upcoming record, and spoke very openly about his experiences of anxiety since the first record, and the reasons behind the space of time between the two. The track, Time, was (and is) brilliant, and part of Vol. 1 of the new record. Better, from the second volume (I think?) is probably my favourite track from the record. The video (below) is incredible, part of a series with incredible visuals, lighting and choreography, filmed earlier this year.
If you're not familiar... Gia released her gorgeous debut There's Always Glimmer in 2018. Mia Gargaret arrived this June, but isn't quite the follow-up that she'd intended. In 2019, Gia found herself unable to sing through illness. Losing the use of her main instrument, she experimented with synths, and this album is the result of that process. She comments that "these compositions helped me hold onto my identity as a music maker. At times this music helped soothe my anxiety more than therapy or anything else could." A sort of self-therapy for Gia, and a lovely treat for us. Knowing the story behind the record makes it feel all the more special, something not so great turning into something beautiful... creativity prevails.
Listening to Richard takes me back to Oxford (which is always a win) - I discovered his music and met him while living there, catching a few shows in the city, including when I ran the door and sold merch at the launch of his previous record A.M. He's a furiously talented and creative individual and this record proves no exception. Big Joy is a (big) tune and Marks is seriously stunning.
Well, do I really need to tell you why the new Phoebe Bridgers record is worth a listen? You've probably already put it at the top of your own AOTY list. Kyoto is certainly one of the best songs of the year. I hadn't listened to her debut when this was released (not for lack of people raving about it and telling me that I should...) I saw Phoebe *in real life* last year, in the foyer after a Dawes show, while I waited to say a quick hello to the frontman Taylor, as he quickly said bye to her. On telling the friend who was waiting for me outside that I'd just seen Phoebe Bridgers (like, the actual one) her reaction told me as much as I needed to know: people love Phoebe. Too right, Punisher is superb. Get your ears on it, now.
There was no doubt that this should be on my list of favourite records this year. Helped along by White Tail Falls (again!) who connected with AJIMAL for an Instagram Live many many months ago, I gave the record a listen and have been adoring it all year. This record demands your attention. There is so much depth and power within the tracks - I'd love to see them performed live with strings etc. I think that How Could You Disappear? is my favourite track from the record, but also love Above All Else, Be Kind, the video for which features a lot of familiar faces...
Over the moon to be sharing this!! The lovely Hailaker shared their second record Holding a couple of weeks back via Lowswimmer, the somewhat surprise (but a very welcome surprise) follow-up to the self-titled record they released last year. They're one of my favourite discoveries of the last couple of years and very kindly agreed to answer some questions about the project and album for me. The results of an email chat with Jemima are below... happy reading!
Also: you should most definitely get the new album (and the debut) via Bandcamp here.
Hello! Before we go on, for those who are new to the project (and have lots of exciting music to discover, once they’ve finished reading this interview) we should introduce you! Who exactly are Hailaker? Or perhaps more accurately, what is Hailaker?
Hailaker is a project that makes music! We’re mostly Ed Tullett and Jemima Coulter, but sometimes Ali Lacey and Dave Huntriss too... and also whoever we can get our hands on to play instruments and sing backing vocals. All our artwork is done by Mike Roth who lives in Portland, he’s been with us since the beginning so he’s an important part of the project as well.
Where do we find you isolating? And (most important question of all, I think) do you have any pets with you? Definitely not asking that because I haven’t got any pets and have to settle for staring longingly at my neighbours' dogs over the garden fence…
I’m (Jemima) in Bristol and Ed’s in Cardiff. Nope no pets... yet - I think we’re getting a cat next week? And there’s slugs eating the lettuces- don’t forget the little guys!
After first hearing some of your music playing in between sets at a Novo Amor show towards the end of 2018, Hailaker was one of my favourite discoveries of 2019 and the self-titled album firmly earned itself a spot in my albums of the year list. How have you found the response to the record, and how was getting to play some shows for it?
Everyone’s said really lovely things about it! I’ve been blown away by people and their messages on Instagram. I don’t really know how it compares to what happens when anyone else releases music, but I guess that’s not the point. It’s been amazing.
The shows were great! I think we were a bit unsure about how it would translate live (especially with all the ‘bits’ in the first record) but it really worked, was great to play to people, who nearly all hadn’t heard our music before, great to spend loads of time in the car together, of course. Kind of dreamy to play with American Football as well, made us very excited for the future and hopefully playing bigger venues.
The reason we’re here (on the internet, where we all live now) is that you’ve just, with only a couple of weeks warning, released your second album Holding into the world. Was the release planned for now or an isolation treat for fans? It’s certainly a huge treat either way!
It was planned for now! It just so happened that isolation kicked in a month before.
In press for the first record, you described it as “the narrative of mine and Ed’s friendship first and foremost, since it meant we went from being strangers to spending weeks writing together.” Where does the new record find you, in the narrative of the project, and thematically?
That’s a good question. I think it found us (we started writing these songs end of 2017 ? ) wanting to explore songwriting… writing real songy-songs, that you could pretty much just sing into the air and they’d hold their own. That was what we were interested in doing.
Thematically its a bit more earthy than the previous record, we talk about things that are a bit more tangible and that was exciting for us as well, finding a new lyrical voice I guess. And we talk about people moving away and apart, finding places to live, feeling mediocre compared to friends... for me it almost systematically goes through all of the things that you encounter when you fall out of education/structure and suddenly realise that you’re supposed to be an adult but don’t really know how, so you just look around you to see what everyone else is doing and hope that no one notices that you’re very much out of your depth.
Yours is a largely collaborative project and one that is free from self-imposed restrictions on genre and style, and I love that. With that in mind, what is the creative process like on a Hailaker record? Where did Holding come into being?
We started writing it a few months after we’d finished the writing for Hailaker but I think we were still producing and mixing it. We’d write ideas when we were together and needing a break from finishing the first record. Then we took all these ideas to a little house in Swanage and wrote lyrics and some more songs and hung out. And then in September 2018 we went and stayed at Ali’s for 3 weeks and recorded everything. So that’s really where Holding came into being.
I think because we don’t feel too concerned about being consistent, at least not over albums anyway, we just write with the ideas that we have at the time. If it’s an idea that we both like but we don’t feel like it fits with what we’re working on at the moment, we put it away and say ‘oh maybe this can be for the third record, or for that pop EP that we might do, or that minimalist piano project that we were talking about’. But I think it’s important to say that Ed and I are both pretty particular about stuff, if one of us doesn’t like something then it’s unlikely we’ll back down until it’s changed, so that’s really where the honing in of ideas comes. Finding ideas that we both really really like is when we know that we’ve got something good. Were there any particular influences - musical or otherwise on this record?
Not intentionally I don’t think… we both love the band Pinegrove and their sound had a big impact, but also the song By the Time was kind of modelled on the sound of the TheBeach Boys, so a whole mix. We were just thinking about how to make something that could be played as a four-piece band.
Finally… aside from the gorgeous new ambient tunes from your touring pal Gia Margaret, what is in your headphones at the moment? Anything new and exciting that you’re listening to, or old favourites that are getting you through?
Ah Gia’s ambient stuff is so so good! For me it’s mostly podcasts at the moment, I’m not very good at listening to music when I’m working on music. But if I do - Great Grandpa’s album Four of Arrows is great, Squirrel Flower always and Happyness. There’s this website called Radio Garden where you can tune into radio all over the world, which I recommend if you feel like a switch up.
Happy drowning-in-chocolate weekend, folks. I'm slow at posting at the moment but music isn't letting up! The last couple of weeks have seen some of my favourite additions yet to the 2020 playlist, and a few days ago, a very welcome addition came in the form of a surprise Hailaker EP. Holding, Pt. 1 is the first part (of three) of their brand new record, releasing in full over the next few weeks. Cause for celebration!
If the project is new to you, it's the brainchild of Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett, with a little music help from a bunch of their friends, including Ed's collaborator, Ali Lacey (AKA Ali Lacey). Their self-titled debut album was one of my favourite records of 2019, it's sublime. Sharing news of the new record online, the duo explained that it was written in a cottage in Swanage over a Summer, and recorded at Ali's place in September 2018. Can't wait to hear more, but for now... listen below!
For a few months now I've been settling into a bit of a routine with the blog to fit around work commitments, sharing posts in the week, so it's been a while since I shared anything at the weekend but I really can't wait to share these two brand new Hailaker tracks with you. I absolutely adore this duo. Their debut self-titled album has a pretty high chance of featuring in my favourite albums of the year list (you heard it here first...) and these first new tracks since the release are a perfect Autumnal listen. First, here's Iridesce.
Discovering Novo Amor last year (you may well have seen me ramble about Ali and his music quite a bit here since...) was a complete joy for several reasons, one of which was that I discovered Hailaker off the back of that. Made up of British musicians Jemima Coulter and Ali's collaborator Ed Tullett, the duo enlist the help of various Novo Amor live members, and US-based artist Mike Roth to create something together which is really special and unique. There's a slight 'British Bon Iver'feel to the project, a community vibe. I'm really digging Famous, which is below...
Hailaker play a couple of UK shows this evening and tomorrow in Leeds and Manchester, in support of American Football. If you missed the debut album, give it a listen here - I hope you love it just as much as I do.
As the latest additions to the blog playlist prove, Friday was a fantastic day for new music. There were new records from Vampire Weekend, Benedict Benjamin and Ten Tonnes alongside singles from the likes of Christof van der Ven, Cosmo Sheldrake and Of Monsters & Men. In short - a very good day for new music. I challenge you, however, to find something nestled in your new music playlists that is quite as beautifully crafted as the self-titled debut album from Hailaker. From first listen this record completely stole my heart - take a listen on Spotify or via Bandcamp below.
With founder members Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett playing as part of his band on the night, my first introduction to Hailaker was when watching Novo Amor headline Union Chapel last year. Tracks from the project were played between sets, and a free download card handed out at the merchandise table. With contributions from Novo Amor, AKA Ali Lacey, on production and instrumentation on the new record, there's a lot of synchronicity between the projects - if you're a fan of one you'll likely adore the other.
Generally though, the Hailaker sound is new. Different. Dare I say... fresh? This is reflected in the name, a made up word, about which Jemima explains that "having a word with no defined meaning means the only association it could have is with the project. That's so freeing because it's completely open, and I think it's led to us feeling infinitely free about what Hailaker is." I absolutely love this.
The result is something truly special. With a lack of self-imposed restrictions on genre, and free from pre-conceptions, each track has a unique appeal. An array of instruments - synths, guitars, flute, saxophone, keys, violin and harp to name a few - create something which is experimental at its heart, and fun to listen to in its unpredictability. It's also worth mentioning that the vast collection of sounds are brought together really well - the production on the record is superb, it never once feels as if there might be too much going on sonically.
Lyrically, the record tackles important issues such as depression, with one of the slower and least heavily layered tracks of the record, Watercolour, opening with the line "Face it, I would sit at home finding places I wouldn't go". Closing track and recent single Not Much sees a narrator struggling with depression second hand, exclaiming in the chorus "it's hard to be around her, I bet it's hard to be down lots." On first listen, a highlight of the record for me was the track Phonetically. It provides a brilliant example of the unpredictability of the record - once you've got used to Jemima's beautifully striking voice taking the lead throughout the record, this is flipped on its head, with Ed taking lead vocals on this one. Other personal highlights are recent singles I Could Be Back and Coma / Smoke which are two of the busiest and loudest tracks on the album.
Working on the record while Jemima was studying for a Maths degree in Bristol and Ed was working with Novo Amor in Cardiff, the album was co-produced by the duo, mostly at Ed's own Oxfordshire studio. Jemima describes the record as "the narrative of mine and Ed's friendship first and foremost, since it meant we went from being strangers to spending weeks writing together [...] there's only a few friends in your life that you'll spend such concentrated time with from the onset, and it's been so amazing for that to be the foundation of our friendship."
Collaboration is a huge part of the fluidity of the project, and another collaborator is Mike Roth, an artist from Portland, Oregon. During the album's creation, Ed introduced Jemima to his artwork; collages filled with scraps of images, letters, cuttings and ephemera. The artwork is reflective of the lack of boundaries within the project. The duo see his artwork as equally important to the music within the project - Ed explains that "what Mike does is so fascinating and beautiful, this incredibly intriguing mix of things that otherwise shouldn't be", while Jemima adds that his "use of recycled materials means his artwork is so consistent and also relevant, kind of intrinsically profound."
If you missed it, check out the recent Hailaker video for Not Much in a blog post here.
With their self-titled debut album due for release this Friday (3rd May) Hailaker have shared the latest single with a beautifully animated video. Describing themselves as less a band and more a fluid and open-ended project, Hailaker's principal members and founders are Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett, both solo artists in their own right. Contributions from Ali Lacey of Novo Amor and Mike Roth, an Oregon-based artist who handles their artwork, make for a really exciting project.
The new track explores the idea of seeing somebody that you love going through an illness, be it mental or physical, and the strain that this can put on you, despite knowing that the person with the illness is going through something much worse. The lyrical themes are reflected in the accompanying video which is the work of videographer Lokyu. The animation focuses on a character who is at work building and fixing a city, which is later revealed to be on a woman's back. The more he tries to fix the structures, the more we see them continue to disintegrate, reflective of the feelings of frustration and helplessness that you feel when you can't help somebody through an illness.
Pre-order the self-titled debut album from Hailaker here - it is due for release on Friday 3rd May.
I feel a little late to the party with this one but desperately wanted to share these tracks! After a discreet double A-side single released late in 2018, Hailaker have announced their self-titled debut album (due 26th April via Lowswimmer) and released two stunning new tracks. Hailaker is primarily made up of founding members Jemima Coulter and Ed Tullett, but the collective project also features contributions from Ali Lacey (Novo Amor) and Oregon-based artist Mike Roth, who looks after the artwork.
Jemima describes the record as being "the narrative of mine and Ed's friendship first and foremost, since it meant we went from being strangers to spending weeks writing together. We see Hailaker as a fluid project, with no restrictions on output or contribution; perhaps one notable commonality is to make music that's melodic in all aspects, rich and interesting."
Talking of the name of the project, a made up word, she goes on to explain that "having a word with no defined meaning means the only association it could have is with the project. That's so freeing because it's completely open, and I think it's led to us feeling infinitely free about what Hailaker is, who's involved, what the music sounds and looks like, etc. It's all Hailaker because it all feels like Hailaker."
From what I've heard - this album is going to be a beautifully rich piece of work, free from the restrictions and boundaries artists (and their labels) often place upon themselves, with a glorious musical texture mixing elements of acoustic and electronic instrumentation - I can't wait to hear more!
