Category: New Music

Sydney Sprague’s first full length album ‘maybe i will see you at the end of the world’ will be released on February 26th. At 29, Sydney brings maturity and vision to her music that showcases her strong vocals, songwriting and confidence, as she creates her unique brand of indie music…

Although 2020 was a tough year, you’ve had many good things happen. Rude Records signed you to their label. How did that come about?

It happened through Mike Pepe, who mixed my record. He’s out in LA. He’s good friends with one of the A&R guys at Rude, and he sent the company the finished product. Rude Records had just signed Sundressed (a Phoenix band), and I sang on one of their songs. I had already released the first song, i refuse to die, so they had to get on board pretty quickly to get the record out.

How is it working with a label as opposed to working independently in the past?

They paid for the album I had already recorded. I was able to use that money to create videos and content. They also hooked me up with PR companies worldwide, a Facebook and Instagram marketing company, and branding marketing. My video, object permanence, is playing at Hot Topic.

This is your first full-length album.  When did you record it?

I did it in January 2020. We booked Hall of Justice studio in Seattle for the month. Nirvana and some of the older bands from Seattle recorded at the studio, and then it was bought by Death Cab for Cutie, where they recorded their albums.

The music on this album is a departure from your past music.  Tell me about the writing and recording process that went into the album.

This was the first time I went into the studio with all the songs acoustically demoed and the producer, Sam Rosson, came up with all the parts. I had more confidence coming into the studio with how I wanted the songs to sound. I did some rudimentary recording at home of the basic parts that I heard in my head and what I wanted it to sound like, then took that into the studio. Sam and I met in the middle to create the final recordings. The first week of recording was getting the basic tracks down of guitar and scratch vocals. After that, we spent two to three days on each song but not in any particular order. We tried a lot of the different pedals and instruments that were at the studio then scaled back a lot.

Does the album have an overall theme to it?

I think it’s love in the time of the apocalypse. It’s trying to be hopeful and having all these feelings, but knowing that you are running out of time.

Is there someone or a style that influenced your album?

It’s a combination of everything that I love. There’s some emo pop-punk influences but primarily indie bands. I would say Death Cab for Cutie because their albums were influential to me, and I loved all the weird ear candy sounds you heard in their music. That’s why I wanted to record at that studio. I got to learn how to make those sounds on my music.

I’ve seen you perform object permanence often on stage, but the album’s version is so different, more upbeat.  Was that change planned ahead of time, or was that something that happened in the studio?

Honestly, that song was the biggest struggle in the studio.  We recorded it a couple of ways. I had two demos, one the way that I had played it on stage with acoustic and some other parts added, but stripped back and simple. The other version was with the Mill boys (Jared and The Mill’s Chuck Morris III, Larry Gast III, and Josh Morin). Larry had a cool guitar part that we messed around with in the other version, but it was too grungy. It sounded like a 90’s rock song. The final recording is a middle version of the two ideas.

You have four official videos released, with one more on the way.  Did you go to  Michael Carter and Dick Dorado of Rhodes Creative LLC with a vision of what the videos would be?

It’s been an interesting process of coming up with the videos. Going into it, I had many ideas but Michael was the real driver of that. I’m not a visual person for translating the words for my songs, but Michael and Dick came up with the majority of concepts and ideas we could incorporate into the videos. They understand my personality and sense of humor then translated it into the video. The steve, staircase failure and quitter videos were all pretty much Dick’s ideas. The guys built the videos from the ground up – steve, which was the first video Rhodes Creative made, was nominated for best music video at the Indie Film Fest in Phoenix.

Does doing A Case of Mondays on Twitch help keep your music fresh and give you a sense of connection?

At the beginning of the quarantine, I was writing and recording music at home, but with the album release and making videos, it’s been harder to make time to play. Before the pandemic, I played cover gigs at least five nights a week, giving me the time to practice. Twitch gives me a chance to play and connect with my friends, even if it’s not in person.

Do you have a pandemic playlist?

I tend to go to nostalgic music, the 90s and early 2000s, that I used to listen to a lot.

What do you think playing is going to look like when you can play live again?

I think there’s going to be a lot more competition because so many bands have been off the road for so long, and there are fewer venues to go back to. I think that living room/backyard shows may be more popular for artists of my size.

If you could play anywhere safely right now, where would you like to play?

I think it would be Rebel Lounge (Phoenix, AZ). It’s my second home. I feel like I was there once a week for a year.

maybe i will see you at the end of the world is released this Friday 26th February, pre-order here.

Interview by Jennifer Mullins
Photos by Natasha Wilson

24th February 2021

Danielle Durack’s new album release, No Place, reflects the ups and downs of a relationship and the grief when it’s over. Danielle is a Phoenix, Arizona singer-songwriter who has a wonderful gift for pairing lyrics with beautiful melodies and harmonies. She does an outstanding job of combining a full band sound complimented with synths that add a haunting quality to the songs. Danielle has created an album with both uptempo songs and ballads. Fans of Sara Bareilles will enjoy Danielle’s music.

It’s been a busy time since the release of No Place. How are you doing?

I’m still working, taking care of the album release, and trying to take care of myself. It’s been busy, but I’m doing good.

You’re getting excellent press response to No Place. How are you feeling after all the work that you put into the album?

It feels good! I always go into the release assuming that nothing will happen. I put everything into it, but I don’t expect anything. With all the good music out there, the fact that it’s reaching a bigger audience is a dream come true.

Were you able to play any of the new songs before the lockdown, and did that influence the recording?

I played some of the songs in my solo shows for the year before lockdown, but I only was able to play the songs with a full band once last February. The songs were basically what they were going to be in December 2019. It just needed to be mixed.

What was the difference between doing an EP and a full album?

It was a lot more work and time, though still as much fun. Each song equates to one more day in the studio.

Can you tell me about the recording process?

I did the album in chunks. I demoed some songs with Sam Rosen, the audio engineer who did my EP Bashful, in Seattle in October and laid out what songs would be on the album. Then, I did the instrumental recording with scratch vocals in December 2019 in Seattle with Sam. I hired musicians who Sam knew, including a bassist and drummer. The drummer had various synth instruments that added to the spooky feeling you hear on some of the songs. My brother Matt did guitar on a couple of tracks, and Sydney Sprague also played on a couple of tracks and sang harmonies. Sam came down to Phoenix to record the vocals.

You’ve made three videos for the singles that you released before the album release. Can you tell me a bit about the process of making them?

The inspiration for the Broken Wings video came about when a friend posted that a wedding shop was going out of business, and I thought, ‘How could I use a wedding dress in a video’. Then I thought of the meme – what’s your type: a red flag with blue eyes, and it made me laugh. It fit the song. Eggshells is about walking away from a relationship then running with certainty, which inspired the video.

The third video, There Goes My Heart, is very cinematic.

I made that with a friend from college who is a filmmaker. We made it in Indianapolis and took all the Covid precautions so that we could make it safely. The video idea was initially for Some Day, but the PR firm I was working with thought this was a better single. My idea was to take a depression mood board with a release at the end. I liked the idea of dancing in the rain at the end, and we were lucky to have a rainy day.

The first track on the album, Mistakes, sets the tone for the album. Was it harder to write a short song?

No. I tried to write a second verse, but I didn’t want to screw it up. I realized that I said everything that I wanted to say. We finished it when I was demoing the song. It’s a nice little interlude.

What is the theme of the album? I always find that your music strikes a chord with how heartache feels.

I wrote this album to process my feelings. I think I got what I needed out of it, and it’s really beautiful for me to know that it is just yours now! Hopefully, it helps others. I write albums to supplement therapy.

How did you feel about doing your release show virtually?

It was okay. I’m grateful that it was even possible. I would have preferred to do it live. Maybe, when the quarantine is over, I’ll do a release show for the vinyl.

Do you have a pandemic playlist?

No, it’s five playlists for my breakup to match the five stages of grief. I usually create new playlists every month as a way to archive memories.

How do you keep your music fresh?

I haven’t practiced as much because I’ve been so busy. One way is changing up the way I play my songs, speeding them up or slowing them down. It’s almost like playing a cover of my own songs.

How do you see playing live in the future? What do you think it is going to look like?

Hopefully, I would love to continue to play with my brother and Sydney. I want to play with a full band, play the acoustic guitar and piano. If I got to a place in my career, I would love to tour with a full piano if I’m lucky to make something happen.

If you could play anywhere safely, where would it be?

Anywhere! I would kill to play a Rebel Lounge (Phoenix) show now or Madison Square Garden. Whatever!

No Place is available now digitally; vinyl copies can also be pre-ordered via Danielle’s website.

Interview by Jennifer Mullins
Photos by Eunice Beck

8th February 2021

Bringing a Lynchian twist to their darkened dream pop, Robbie & Mona release their debut album into the world this month and propel themselves straight onto the ones to watch in 2021 list. The couple behind the band are Ellie Gray and Will Carkeet, both also members of consummate Bristol collective Pet Shimmers. We asked them about their music, what they’ve been listening to through lockdown and the cinematic value of trampolines…

How are you both doing, where are you right now?

Ellie: We are in Bristol, in Easton, in our bedroom. We’re both enjoying the Saturday sun, listening to / watching a funny old performance by a band called Butch Willis and the Rocks.

Your debut album EW comes out at the end of the month, how has it been recording and promoting it during lockdown?

Will:  We finished recording EW back in March in the first lockdown, but its been a bit of a rollercoaster, waves of frustration in terms of not being able to gig and properly show it to the world. But Spinny Nights have been very great at promoting it for us and being so supportive.

Tell us about the songs, is there a running story throughout the record?

Ellie: The songs have been opportunities for us to have fun going into a world of automatism and surrealism. Will makes his production potions that always get me going and are perfect foundations for me to freely dance with my thoughts and voice across it.

Will: The majority of these songs were written and recorded as we began seeing each other, we look back and kind of realise they were our attempts at impressing each other!

EW album artwork 

Your latest track Queen Celine packs a lot into a minute and a half, was there any temptation to make it longer or was it always meant to be a short, sharp hit to the senses?

Will: You find the track always tells you how long it wants to be and this one stopped very abruptly and it felt right being as short as it was, any more and we would have upset the song.

The video is like a little burst of film noir with added trampolining – it’s beautifully shot, what was the thinking behind it and who was involved?

Ellie: We saw some work by Max McLachlan and thought he had the perfect twist of humour and doom. He had this idea of trampolines, which felt great, then Arthur from Spinny Nights’ mum and dad ended up being star bouncers in the video. It felt like a really seamless collaboration where everything fell into place, all the right personalities came together. It’s a really satisfying feeling when two different artists get together and their mediums really expose and compliment each other.

You recorded a set for Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial Festival a while back, it looked like they were due to have a great line up – how did you get involved in that?

Will: We played with them in October 2019 with our other project Pet Shimmers, and then when we were on tour they kindly put us up in Rotterdam and invited us to a little gig on a boat. They are so hospitable and giving, since then we stayed in touch and when they heard mine and Ellie’s new stuff they were keen to get us involved. They are great human beings.

Realistically, live music isn’t getting back to how it was pre-Covid any time soon, how do you see it looking moving forward?

Will: From this pandemic I would hope that when things return to ‘normal’, that people approach it more ambitiously in the sense of not just playing a standard venue and standard support act, questioning the traditional way of how a show is constructed.

Who’s been on your lockdown playlist and what have you been watching to while away the hours?

Will: Drake – Dark Lane Demo Tapes, Butch Willis and the Rocks – The TV’s from Outer Space, the Notting Hill soundtrack, Jessica Pratt, Lou Reed – Coney Island Baby album, Yellow Man – Lost Mi Love…

Ellie: Leonard Cohen Various Positions album, Connie Converse, Brian Eno & John Cale, Cindy Lee,  Sean Nicholas Savage, Playboi Carti – @ MEH, Le Tigre, Beverly Glenn-Copeland , Peggy Lee…

Been watching Surviving Death on Netflix, a slightly cheesy but addictive series about near death experiences and life after the physical body, Unexplained series presented by the wonderful Tony Robinson talking about the Cathars and some spooky premonition stuff with amazing early noughties style dramatisations, Jan Švankmajer animator film-maker DVD set, John Cocteau’s 1946 La Belle et La Bête, and Breaking Bad, to which I was a virgin pre-lockdown.

If there were no restrictions and you could take us on a tour of your favourite places around Bristol, where would we go?

Ellie: We would take you to Greenbank Cemetery and give you the task of finding the most elaborate headstone and reward you with a hot flask of mulled wine.

And what’s next for Robbie & Mona?

Will: Kick ass second album on its way.

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EW is released on 29th January via Spinny Nights and is available to pre-order now – catch up with Robbie & Mona here.

Interview by Siobhan
Header photo © Ellie Gray

19th January 2021

Like a magpie collects shiny gems, Sen Morimoto has dipped into a treasure trove of genres and influences, fusing together jazz, hip-hop and soulful undertones on his new self-titled album. We asked him about his early experiences with music and how the record came together…

How are you doing, what’s life like in Chicago right now?

All in all I’m feeling grateful. Or at least always trying to feel grateful. Chicago’s Covid cases are spiking again, so we’re preparing for another lockdown. Today I’ll stock up on groceries and try not to leave home for a while. While as a country there’s been a brief sigh of relief after the election, Chicagoans are still protesting. The city government has made it clear that its loyalty lies with the police, and not the hundreds of thousands of protesters asking to defund the police and remove them from schools. It’s a big hill to look up at because these pleas are really only the bare minimum but the City hasn’t budged, and has instead consistently responded with violence. All that being said, everything is so uncertain these days that I remain grateful for what I have and the safety and wellbeing of my friends and family.

You’ve been playing music since you were a child, what are your early memories of hearing music at home or with family and friends?

I’ve always loved to sing, although for most of my adolescence I was too shy to try it in front of anyone so I used the saxophone. I remember singing Jackson 5 CDs straight through in the car at the top my lungs when I was really little. My siblings hated it. I did the same with the theme from That Thing You Do!. As I got older my dad’s CD collection became a treasure map of interests for me, and a kind of bible of music to study. I had obsessive phases with a lot of records, mostly stuff from the 60s and 70s. Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Neil Young, Carpenters, Kate Bush, and on and on. I taught myself piano and bass learning as many Stevie Wonder songs as I could. Super grateful for those CDs, they definitely shaped not only what I play but what I enjoy hearing in new music too.

Your latest album was released at the end of October, how long has it been in the making and how does it feel now it’s finished?

After my last record touring, my own music and others’ projects kept me pretty busy for a couple years. I would write lyrics or record voice memo ideas on the road and glue everything together whenever I was home. A lot of times when I sit down to record I’m just exploring sounds to come back to and use for a song I write separately, so it ends up feeling like I’ve been working on each record for years but it doesn’t usually start really coming together until a bit before it comes out. Some of the tracks have elements that I’ve been tweaking for years before I released the previous record even. It feels amazing to finally have it out in the world. My favorite part about releasing a body of work is how free I feel to make something completely different right after.

It’s hard to categorise your music but it feels like the soul/ jazz/ rap fusion holds lots of crossover appeal for listeners who might be less attracted to one of those elements on its own – do you get good reactions from a wide audience?

I think because the music I’m inspired by is so varied there’s something for everyone in some of my songs. But I also feel like that’s becoming more and more common in new music. We have access to so much music and art to draw inspiration from, and are exposed to so much of the same stuff online that it feels more and more like all new music is a combination of a few different genres. It’s something that I am actually pretty excited about. It’s like if all the genres that exist now are elements that have been discovered, then the only way to create new elements is to combine the ones we have. The tricky part is doing it gracefully so your music chemistry set doesn’t explode in your face.

What’s the best or worst review you’ve ever had?

The other day I was with some friends and someone put on Man Of The Woods by Justin Timberlake and said, “You ever notice you kinda sound like him”. Don’t get me wrong I love so much of his music and he’s obviously a legend but to say it while that song is playing and not like… idk Cry Me a River or ‘Pushaaaaa looooovee I’m just a Juj-juh-juh-juh-Junkie for your love…’ I was still flattered though, I’d say that was the best and the worst in one.

Tell us about the collaborations on the album, do you start these with a clear idea of the outcome or just see which direction things take?

I definitely let the song lead the way. I leave a lot of room for error and experimentation because some of the best ideas come from mistakes. With collaboration I like to maintain a similar looseness. I never ask collaborators to use their voice or instrument in a certain way, I just ask them to listen to the song a few times and try something that feels natural to them. We go back and tweak things afterwards that we mutually agree on but I try not to let myself get in the way of their expression. I think the other way of doing it where musicians become kind of instruments of your own expression can make for great art too but for me it’s about our minds kind of turning the Rubik’s cube around together.

You’ve mentioned that you had vivid dreams whilst writing the album – did these make their way into the songs?

Definitely, there’s a lot of reference to my dreams in the lyrics. Some are descriptive of the things I’ve dreamt of, like in The Things I Thought About You Started To Rhyme where the lyrics are almost all supposed to feel like a dream, or You Come Around and Nothing Isn’t Very Cool where I talk a little bit about how these dreams affect my waking experience.

Take us on a tour of your neighbourhood, what should we know about that’s not in the guide books?

There’s a Puerto Rican sandwich joint around the corner called Cafe Colao that I’m at more mornings than not. Their café con leche motivates me to rise in the morning.

You’re receiving an award for the album, who gets a mention in your acceptance speech?

I’m definitely hitting the Cuba Gooding Jr. Jerry McGuire Oscar win speech “EVERYONE INVOLVED I LOVE YOU”.

And what’s next, what does 2021 hold for you?

Honestly I have no idea. I’m excited for a couple projects I’m helping put together on the production end and with my label Sooper Records here in Chicago. I want to make as much music as I can and use this time off touring to think about how I can help people more and continue learning.

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You can keep up with the latest news from Sen here. The album is available to buy digitally and in physical format on vinyl, CD and cassette on Bandcamp, through Sen’s own label Sooper Records. Watch the video for Woof below.

Interview by Siobhan
Photo via One Beat PR

17th November 2020

Having recently discovered the sultry sounds of Ostrich with the two sharp singles they’ve already released, we’re very much looking forward to hearing what comes next. In the interim, we spoke to the band about their music, living through lockdown and their local haunts in Liverpool. There may also have been mention of brandy and ostrich racing…

Hello, introduce us to Ostrich – who’s involved and what’s the story behind your name?

Will McTaggart: Hello Breaking Glass! So we’re Ostrich, a five piece from Liverpool. We have Stuart Wilson on drums, Lydia Thomas on sax and keys, Will Bowman on bass, Leo Watkins on guitar and myself doing the crooning. Sadly, there’s not really an interesting story in regards to the name ‘Ostrich’, apart from that I look like one with my long legs. 

You started performing together last year, how did it feel when things came to an abrupt halt in 2020?

Will McT: It was a real shame to be honest. We played our last show in March and I’m sure it was our best to date. We were getting really tight as a band and had quite a few dates in the pipeline. Not to worry though! We’ll keep ourselves fresh, ready to go again!

Lydia: It feels like we jinxed it with that gig! I really miss rehearsing as a band. Luckily, Will McT’s been churning out tunes and sending us demos. I can’t wait to work on them and add some saxy bits. 

You’ve taken the opportunity to release two singles this year, that can’t be so easy in current conditions, how did you make that happen?

Will B: Way back in the distant past – 2019 I think it was – we flew to Prague and recorded 4 tracks in 4 days. It was wild. We drank more Old Fashions than any humans should, became regulars at the local jazz club, and razzed around on scooters ‘til our hearts were content. Those were the days, and listening to these tracks really brings it back. We really want to go back to record some more, but given that we’ve not been able to do that, we decided to release some of them instead. Releasing was a lot less fun than recording, but hey ho, it kept us occupied through lockdown!

The tracks both have quite a different feel, I love the 80s electro leaning on Inside Out (Got No Doubt) and the change up to One Man Band – do you set out to make a particular sound on a song or just see where it takes you?

Will B: I’d definitely agree – Inside Out is all mellow and warm, whereas One Man Band is bitter and angsty. I wouldn’t say that we ever start out with a fixed idea. For us, it’s definitely a case of getting the bare bones of the song, feeling it out a little bit, and then building the sound around that feeling. 

Despite restrictions, you’ve picked up a solid amount of interest and airplay – how does it feel hearing your songs on the radio?

Stuart: Hearing Inside Out on 6 Music was a surreal moment for us; we all listen to 6 constantly and weren’t expecting it at all. It’s a shame any interest we have can’t be translated to gigs yet, but we’ll wait as long as it takes…

How are things with you currently, what’s been the reaction to Liverpool being back in local lockdown?

Will B: At the time of writing, fleets of army vehicles are rolling up the M6, coming to swab each and every one of us. A total, mass test of the Merseyside region. A UK first! News outlets herald a new technological breakthrough, but we fear something more sinister this way comes. We’re the last Labour stronghold and BoJo hates us for it. And we can only wonder – why us? What does he want from us? Is it our DNA? And then what next? Will he build huge steel walls around us, cut us off from the mainland, and strip us of our freedoms and our citizenships? We hope so, because quite frankly, this country’s gone to shit anyway.

Lydia: … my Animal Crossing island is thriving.

Tell us about your home city in better times, there always seems to be loads going on creatively, where are your favourite places to go?

Leo: In ‘normal times’ Liverpool is just the best place. It’s small, but there’s a lot happening, so it’s super concentrated. 24 Kitchen Street remains probably the best venue still going in the city, despite becoming surrounded by faceless student accommodation, it champions diversity and supports local causes. The Grapes on Roscoe Street is probably my favourite pub in the world, it has live salsa infused jazz on Sunday nights. Petit Café du Coin is just round the corner if you’re feeling fancy (their boozy Irish coffee is liquid crack). We’re also blessed with some incredible art galleries: The Walker and The Tate to name but two. Other than that, get yourself out of the city centre. Sefton Park is completely unique, and huge, and always inspirational to me.

Whilst none of us are likely to be popping off to a desert island any time soon, what would your picks be to keep you happy if you did – favourite albums or anything else you couldn’t live without?

Will McT: I’m a bit obsessed with Joni Mitchell at the moment, especially her album Hissing of Summer Lawns. I’m just in awe of her songwriting. I’d take a few of her records and a massive bottle of brandy. 

Lydia: I feel the same about PJ Harvey’s album, Let England Shake. 

Will B: I’ve recently taken to obsessively refreshing the BBC News app, drinking lots of brandy, and crying. It really does get me through the day and is not something I would recommend under any circumstances.

Can you plan ahead right now, have you anything in the pipeline for more new music or playing live again?

Will McT: We’re sitting on a couple of singles that are ready to hatch once the time is right. Just seeing how things go with the Covid situation. We should have a video coming out for One Man Band in the next couple of weeks too. At the time of writing I’ve been filming something that involves an overhead projector, jars of beetroot, and shower gel – so I’ll leave that to your imagination. 

And lastly, because it feels important to end with a serious question, in some countries people race each other on the backs of ostriches – if you were the ostriches who would win the race and why?

I think about this all the time. I’d say Will McT, he’s already got the hang of those lanky legs. Then again, Stuart has a real competitive edge… it could get messy.

Catch up with Ostrich here and have a listen to the singles below

Interview by Siobhan
Band photo © Daniel de la Bastide

5th November 2020