WATCH: Leif Vollebekk - 'Apalachee Plain'

It's been a couple of months since Leif Vollebekk did us all the favour of sharing his gorgeous record New Ways into the world. Closing up the record beautifully with sublime country sounds, Apalachee Plain features pedal steel from Cindy Cashdollar, vocals from Angie McMahon and some harmonica to finish it all off. As the latest single from the record, the track has been given a video treatment, with Leif himself seen against the backdrop of a black and white Icelandic landscape - the beauty of the video definitely matches the beauty of the track here.

The video's director Joe Connor explains that "I wanted to create a photographic video for this track which used mixed media, Icelandic landscapes and portrait photography to give an other-worldly vibe to the track, putting Leif and his voice at the centre of the visuals. 

Following an Australian tour, Leif soon heads to Europe and plays a run of UK dates in late April/early May. Remaining tickets here.

27th April: Bush Hall, London (sold out)
28th: Bush Hall, London (sold out)
29th: Exchange, Bristol
30th: Soup Kitchen, Manchester
1st May: Poetry Club, Glasgow
2nd: Soundhouse, Dublin

Follow Leif Vollebekk - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Bear’s Den - 'The Star of Bethnal Green'

Today is very very very exciting because I'm taking a trip down to London after work to see the Bear's Den Christmas concert for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). True to form they've got a superb line-up alongside them with Matthew & The Atlas, Christof van der Ven, Seramic and Wovoka Gentle, AND the show is in a church. It's going to be a beautiful evening and all for a good cause - I can't wait! For now though, I'm revelling in the beauty of their brand new music video for The Star of Bethnal Green, taken from their recent Only Son of the Falling Snow EP. 

The track is about somebody at Christmas watching a singer in a bar and feeling overwhelmed by the performance, feeling as if their entire life and identity is revealed to them through the song. The video was written and directed by award-winning trans director, actor and activist Jake Graf - the band met Jake and his wife after a London show and were desperate to find something to collaborate on, and this was the perfect opportunity! Playing on the story of the ghost of Christmas past, the video highlights the pandemic of violence against trans people. 

Jake Graf shares that "as a trans man who grew up without any positive representations to aspire to, I know how important it is that we start seeing more trans visibility in the mainstream media. We have seen more and more allies to the community standing up and being counted but as our tiny trans community continues to be attacked and vilified we truly need all the support that we can get [...] trans murders have hit an all time high, with trans women in particular being targeted. This film combines the magic of Christmas with the powerful and hopeful story of an older trans woman being guided towards living as her authentic self. Older LGBTQ people are so often overlooked in cinema and the media that it felt like an important choice to depict such a rarely seen character."

Actor Jordan Revell talks about her involvement in the video, sharing that "I'm extremely proud to have worked with Jake Graf and Bear's Den on the video, telling a truth experienced by many trans people around the world. This story is personal to me as a transgender woman experiencing the fear of coming out, being mocked and discriminated against by the majority on a daily basis. I'm perhaps one of the lucky ones who so far has managed to avoid threats, acts of violence and hate against me, but not all of our trans brothers and sisters are so fortunate, and with this story we show our solidarity and commemorate the 331 murdered trans people this year alone [Trans Respect Versus Transphoboia (TvT) Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) research project update published 20th Nov 2019]. I hope this video inspires people to seek education and enlightenment on LGBTQ+ issues and in turn help us to work together for a more accepting and safe future for all.”

Follow Bear's Den - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Leif Vollebekk - 'Blood Brother'

A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Leif Vollebekk opening up for fellow Canadians Half Moon Run in Brixton. Having listened to his new album New Ways before the show, he was as talented and mesmerising on stage as I'd expected, and I really enjoyed his set. One of my favourite tracks from the album is Blood Brother and I'm excited to see that there is now a music video for the track! The cinematic new video sees Leif hand-cuffed to a seat on a vacant open-top bus as it drives through recognisable parts of central London. Having danced his way to freedom, Leif  gets off of the bus, passing his burden to another passenger.

The video's director Joe Connor (Mumford & Sons, Coldplay) elaborates on the concept behind it: "Leif is an artist whose music takes me to a dreamlike space. I wanted to create a video that found Leif in the middle of a story, where he has come from and where he is going is unknown but the beauty in this video is that here we find an artist, handcuffed and adrift in a city in the early hours of the morning. This beautiful video presents London in the most spectacular way and sets Leif as a quiet voice amongst the rolling city.” 

He's just announced a European headline tour for April 2020, with a second London show after the first sold out in a couple of days. UK listings below - tickets here.

27th April: Bush Hall, London

28th: Bush Hall, London

29th: Exchange, Bristol

30th: Soup Kitchen, Manchester

1st May: Poetry Club, Glasgow

2nd: Soundhouse, Dublin

Follow Leif Vollebekk - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: The Big Moon - 'Take A Piece'

"Look we made a pop song!" 

This one is sounding glorious on the blog playlist this week, nestled between new tracks from Friendly Fires and Love Fame Tragedy. Taken from upcoming album Walking Like We Do (due 10th January via Fiction Records), The Big Moon are paying homage to some rather legendary 1990s boybands with the video for their current single, Take A Piece. Worth a watch for the overwhelming nostalgia alone.

Talking about the track, vocalist Juliette Jackson explains that "I initially wrote this song for someone else [...] I'd written an album's worth of songs but a lot of them felt similar to our first album and I wanted to try something different."

"I'd just watched a documentary about this pop star and seen how insane their life was and their intense relationship with their fans, and was blown away by how much of themselves they'd had to give up to have the life they had [...] This mega pop star's life was literally nothing like mine but I could really identify with the vulnerability of being a performer and standing on stage every night and feeling the eyes of an audience, which can feel either grounding and unifying or - occasionally - scary and isolating." 

If you'd like to catch the band playing live soon, you're in luck as they're heading out on tour with Bombay Bicycle Club across the UK in January and February - and they've just announced a run of their own shows for Feb/March. Full listings here.

27th Feb: The Fleece, Bristol
28th: O2 Academy 2, Liverpool
29th: Summerhall Arts Centre, Edinburgh
2nd March: Contemporary, Nottingham
3rd: O2 Academy 2, Oxford

Follow The Big Moon - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.