The Joyformidable Interview

Welsh rock trio The Joy Formidable show no sign of slowing down in 2013 with the release of their second album Wolf’s Law and an extensive UK tour, culminating in their largest London headline show at the Roundhouse. Before they set off we catch up with lead singer Ritzy to talk about the new album, how the band is environmentally aware and why she would want to be a possum.

You recorded your new album in a remote log cabin in Portland, Maine, what did that experience bring to the songs?

I think creatively we needed it. We love being on the road, we write a lot on the road but what we need at some point is some time to reflect on everything we have been writing. I think it gives us a really isolated solitude in nature, it was just a perfect place to reflect on what we have been writing over the course of the year. To reflect on where we were at, give us a chance to reconnect with ourselves in different ways, just a bit of space to lose yourself and become completely consumed by making a record.

What can fans of the first album expect from the follow up?

It’s intricate, beautiful. There’s a lot of range on the new album, from the orchestral to the intimate so there is a range of dynamics and a breath of instrumentation but ultimately, it’s a different Joy Formidable record. I think it’s just very natural for us to come out with a follow up that’s different. We always want to be brave in terms of the writing and moving this band forward creatively. It’s definitely different but it has all the same passion and intent and the voice that’s synonymous with the Joy Formidable.

As a band you are environmentally aware, what changes have you made to become more environmentally friendly?

I think obviously, it’s always been something we are connected with but it’s been spurred by us being in this setting and being very close to nature in the middle of nowhere. We don’t want to lose our connection with the natural world.

I’m a big believer in people power, it’s all about tiny steps and what people can bring to the table. As long as people have optimism and they question, they have a social responsibility what ever that is. I think its all the small gestures added up that can make a hell of a lot more difference than governments and companies. It’s something that we have always been interested in, a gesture as small as printing your album box  on recycled paper, we’ve got a tree certificate in each of the box sets as well, that means there is a tree planted for every box set that’s bought. If everybody did lots of tiny gestures like that then it can have an impact. 

Maaike Breliman Interview

You could almost say it was fate that Maaike Breliman would be cast in the role of Kate Bush for ‘WOW’, not only does she share the singers birthday but also a strong resemblance in appearance and vocal style. As Kate Bush only toured once, Wow will give fans a chance to hear Bush’s songs performed live by Maaike and great attention has been given to the production to make it as authentic as possible. During rehearsals we caught up with Maaike to find out what she loves about Bush and how she has been preparing.

What is it about Kate Bush that you think captivates people so much?

I think it’s the fact that it’s got so many different aspects that are all good. The lyrics plus the music plus the detailed recording and arranging plus the way she would express and perform so I guess it’s a lot of different things all combined.

What where the most important elements for you as a performer trying to emulate Kate Bush?

I’ve always said that as a singer I’m not the kind of singer who aims to make people dance but I want to touch them, I’d rather have people having goose bumps and being touched in an emotional way.

You have had to train for all the dancing, how has that been?

Yes sometimes it is, I’m not 21 anymore so it’s hard work. I have always danced and worked out a lot, which has helped, but it’s a lot of work still.

What are some of the challenges you have faced getting the show together?

Luckily, I have a good eye for detail as does our producer. I wouldn’t want to have a show that doesn’t have a lot of details in it.

How have you managed rehearsing while in different countries?

Always been a challenge, we are very grateful for the internet so we can stay in touch a lot, does speed things along when you don’t have to send things through regular mail. My band are all from UK so they can sometimes practice without me, I can prepare for the dancing in Holland, my backing vocalist is from Holland to so I fly back and forth a lot, its a lot of planning. 

Published in Yorkshire Evening Post 

Epilogues – The Cartographer

 

The Cartographer is the tender debut album from brothers Mickey and Joey Donnelly from York. They have only been Epilogues for around a year and the emotive and delicate instrumentation at work is even more impressive when you consider their ages, Mickey in his second year of University and Joey yet to finish school.

The album starts with ‘Eos’ a lullaby of a track that sets the standard for the dreamy harmonies and carefully crafted guitar parts that engulf the record.

‘Atlas, At Last’ the most affecting track, with soft and melancholic vocals against a simple piano part are simply divine. Its simplicity allows the listener to be immersed in the emotive and delicately layered harmonies that build towards the end of the song to create a warm, blissful track. The song sounds like it belongs in a dream sequence of a fairytale film as it has an ethereal quality.  

Another stand out track is the sweet ‘Persephone’, only a short track but full of beautiful harmonies and sweetness. For the last track John Donnelly adds his vocals to ‘the Cartographer’ and it’s tenderness works well with the downcast tempo and lyrical play.

The whole album is unadulterated and natural sounding with a great balance between instrumentation and vocal harmonies. It’s brave to let songs stand this bare but they have managed to keep them interesting and full of depth. The lyrics are thoughtful and articulate with a poetic quality that sits beautifully next to the graceful piano melodies.

There’s maturity in the songs that surprises and excites, if this is the debut album from the boys then their future must hold something special.

Published in Counterfeit Magazine 

Django Django Interview

Not many bands receive the same level of acclaim with a debut album as Scottish group Django Django did in 2012 with their self-titled album. Before the band headline the NME tour we catch up with bassist Jim Dixon to find out how the band felt at being nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, plans for their second album and why they went with a terrible band name.

When you started the band were you all quite focused as to what you wanted from the band or has it taken on a life of its own?

Yeah pretty much. I don’t think we had any kind of idea of what it was going to do, we didn’t even think we would get an album out when we first started doing songs, it’s just snowballed. We put a couple of singles out just because we were excited to do that not because we had any foresight as to where that would go. We put the first couple of singles out ourselves with a friend and then we got offered a record deal so we wrote an albums worth of stuff and when the album came out its taken off, its been pretty unexpected but its been great. It’s been pretty amazing the places we’ve been playing, last summer we went all round Europe, we have been to America, Australia and Japan, its totally exceeded anything that we thought would happen. 

How far along is the second album?

Pretty early stages, we are in the studio in the next couple of weeks but we are working on the live set then hopefully we will get some time to work on some new songs. It’s pretty tentative at the moment, we are recording a few ideas ourselves and hopefully we will start working on stuff in the next couple of weeks.

Your fist took 3 years to complete the first album; will the process be different this time around?

I think so because Dave (Maclean – drummer) produced the last album and it was pretty much trial and error as we didn’t really know what we were doing so it took us quite a while. I think now that we are working on it full time things will be a lot quicker than the first album. Everyone was working full time jobs and Dave was in college, we were literally getting together twice a week but hopefully this time will be much quicker.