Caoilfhionn Rose - Melby - William The Conqueror - The Long War - the Slowlinks
Manchester singer-songwriter Caoilfhionn Rose (pronounced Keelin) has today shared a new song from her luscious, soulful new album Truly. ‘Fireflies’ echoes a message of hope that permeates throughout the album.
Talking about the new track, Rose says: “To me, ‘Fireflies’ has a nostalgic and comforting feel. It’s about feeling hopeful about the future ‘though there may be dark clouds the sun will always come’. There are references to older lyrics I have written. The line ‘free from all the chaos’ is a nod to a song I collaborated on with The Durutti Column. The song is about acknowledging the past and moving on as ‘time is always healing’.”
Truly moves through a tapestry of curious musical inflections; nods towards folk, jazz, ambient, electronica and even a subtle influence of psychedelia, it never stands still to take a breath, despite its ethereal and delicate core. Out April 9th on Gondwana Records (Mammal Hands, Portico Quartet, Matthew Halsall, Hania Rani), in Truly, the young singer-songwriter has accomplished a body of work that is both sonically and lyrically wise beyond her years.
Co-produced by Kier Stewart of The Durutti Column following Rose’s collaborative endeavours with them on their album Chronicle LX:XL, the musician’s song writing draws from a diverse palette of influences, including Building Instrument, Rachel Sermanni, Alabaster dePlume and Broadcast. Rose also professes to a love for beautiful, stripped back, piano based music, such as Dustin O’Halloran and label mate Hania Rani.
Truly came to exist due to a deep-routed need to create – even though its conception was interrupted as Caoilfhionn Rose recovered in hospital from an illness, she found strength within writing music. “In Spring 2019 I took part in a gig swap with my good friend and fellow musician Kristian Harting who is from Denmark. We played several gigs in the UK but unfortunately the Denmark part of the tour was cut short as I was taken ill. I was hospitalised for several weeks and have taken the last year out to recover” says Rose. “I gradually returned to finishing my second album” she continues. “Coming back to creating after being unwell was challenging but also therapeutic. This record marks a difficult time of my life and writing it helped get me through that. I am really grateful to have music as an outlet.” It may be this tremendously challenging period that has abetted its characterising qualities.
Rose’s beautifully restrained vocal is all at once soothing yet mesmerising. She demands and holds attention through her evident talent yet hypnotises the listener into a trance with her experimental tendencies. “After being unwell, getting back to recording helped me recover my voice after not singing for so long. Finishing bits of songs, writing lyrics and recording vocals helped me get back on my feet and get better.”
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Stockholm four-piece Melby have constantly been growing since their debut with catchy single 'Human' in 2016. In 2019, the band released their acclaimed debut record 'None of this makes me worry' which was followed by tour dates all over Europe. During the pandemic in 2020, the band have worked on new material in a new way. From these sessions, we've previously heard 'Common Sense' and 'Old Life' and now the dynamic 'Somewhere New' follows.
On 'Somewhere New', Melby continues to cement their role as one of the most interesting Scandinavian acts around, a band so home and accomplished within their sound that they're now ready to continue to experiment with it without losing their characteristic. The new material was mainly written and straight-away recorded in the studio in close collaboration with producer Alexander Eldefors, this is a completely new way for a band that previously in many cases have toured material for years before recording them. 'Somewhere New' is a track where Melby embrace their talent as songwriters, both combining multiple genres and building crescendos.
The band often gets compared to fellow Swedes Dungen and Amason but Melby’s dynamic sound, with influences from folk, psych, indie and pop, stand out. The quartet's light, semi-psychedelic folk pop is led by Matilda Wiezell’s enchanting voice which fits perfectly with Melby’s unique musical landscape - a sound that's been called "otherworldly, and wholly brilliant" by The Line of Best Fit.
The band tells us about Somewhere New: "The Somewhere New demo really set out to be this ambitious attempt at an indie song inspired by classical counterpoint composition. However, it evolved into something else when we started rehearsing it together, definitely to the better. The end result is this maxed out two-part journey spanning from low-key indie to intense psych-rock. So lean back and enjoy the ride, I guess."
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South West England trio William The Conqueror released today their new album Maverick Thinker through Chrysalis Records. A record of cuts and bruises, wrapped within bittersweet leftfield rock n roll tunes, Maverick Thinker is razor sharp, dripping with the blues and an oft sardonic vocal delivery.
William The Conqueror is fronted by Ruarri Joseph, a wry, patient storyteller, who has managed enough living to portray a world-weary wisdom in his words, but balances it all with enough optimism to suggest he hasn't quite lived. Maverick Thinker is a record of short, sharp shots to the arm. Fuzzy college rock with chops, one foot lingering menacingly over the distortion pedal.
Recorded in Los Angeles at the infamous Sound City Studios, Ruarri, Naomi Holmes (bass) and Harry Harding (drums) rattled through the album's ten tunes at a breakneck speed. Which turned out to have been a good thing, because the sessions were cut short as the pandemic took grip. With the studio doors locked, the band spent a final, eerie day wandering a deserted Venice Beach before flying home early, captured by the band and featured in their video for "Quiet Life." All that chaos brings a certain unpredictability to an album that nods to some of the US lo-fi greats and yet arrives at something innately British.
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The Long War is a shared battle story between five people who have each fought to actualize their dream of becoming musicians.
Unified onstage, in the studio and on record, they are a shared belief, a war of attrition. A shared philosophy between five people, all on the same path, that through hard work and honesty, beautifully authentic music can be made.
"Robot Heart," the brand new single from The Long War, was inspired at a time of feeling alone and cooped up through the fall months. Staring out the window watching crows fly above as they do in Vancouver every single day at the same time to the same spot, over and over again.
It's routine, instinctual – but in a way also mechanical, built in. "Robot Heart" alludes to our own default habits in matters of the heart and the longing to reprogram, to stop making the same mistakes.
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the Slowlinks is a shared battle story between five people who have each fought to actualize their dream of becoming musicians. Unified onstage, in the studio and on record they are a shared belief, proof that the journey is worth the war.
But if not for one fateful night in Dawson City, The Long War might have never happened. It was there that singer/songwriter Jarrett Lee landed after leaving his hometown of Ottawa, a frustrated and disillusioned cover musician. He traveled across Canada trying to make sense of life. Inevitably, he ended up another lost soul drawn to the silence of the Yukon. It was there, under the northern lights, that the spell was broken. His muse was born on the horizon and the songs began to spill out of him.
An invisible pull guided Jarrett toward Vancouver and his next chapter – autobiographical tales that reflect the landscapes and places that have inspired him as well the people who have come and gone throughout it all. “I see the world as a collage of moving pictures and so I try to write and produce songs that capture the cinematic essence of life.”
Building out from this foundation of storytelling Chad Gilmour (guitar/vocals), Jess Lee (keyboards/vocals), Neil Williamson (drums) and Jonny Battistuzzi (bass) each come to The Long War through their own journeys and provide support in beautiful musical and vocal arrangements. With lasting hooks and strong melodies the band’s sophomore release UNDER A HEAVY SKY is cathartic, deeply personal and speaks to those who have both loved and lost.
Formed in Vancouver in 2016, The Long War won the 2017 CBC Searchlight Contest and their song “Breathe In Breathe Out” was listed as one of CBC Music’s Top 100 songs that year. Their first album LANDSCAPES debuted on CBC First Play and the band has been featured on Q with Tom Power and in the pages of Canadian Musician Magazine. They’ve toured across Canada performing at the CBC Music Festival in Toronto, Banff Performance In The Park as well as the reopening of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre as part of the Canada 150 Celebrations and the Break Out West stage at Folk Alliance International in Montreal.
The Long War is a war of attrition. It is a shared philosophy between five people all on the same path that through hard work and honesty, beautifully authentic music can be made.
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