Josienne Clarke - Nico Ev - Brenda - Julia Sound
Indie-folk artist Josienne Clarke has shared the second taste of her forthcoming new album, Onliness. On her new album, due out on April 14th, Clarke revisits songs from her back catalogue that felt buried somehow; that had never had the spotlight she felt they deserved. Originally written back in 2008, the song first appeared on and opened Clarke's first ever solo album One Light Is Gone.
Of her new single, Clarke says: "It’s about the turning of a season, the first frost of winter. The birds are making strange patterns in the sky, a signal that our days will soon be short. This version features a specific blurry guitar part, I wrote it like that to mirror the blurry movement of the birds in their weird patterns, in and out of time and sync in strange shapes and formations. I also play piano on this track which is pretty rare for me. I love it as an instrument, it's bright glassy timbre fitted perfectly for the track. I rarely play it on my music as I have the services of keyboard experts like Matt Robinson but I recorded the piano myself just to give an idea of the kind of part I was thinking and Matt liked it and said we should keep mine, so we did.”
In her own words, Josienne Clarke viewed her 2021 album – A Small Unknowable Thing – as a leap into the abyss. Finally free from the industry structure that had been built around her over the preceding decade and more, she released the album via her own label, Corduroy Punk Records. Free from her previous role as one-half of a duo and losing the genre constraints she was quickly and lazily placed within, she came out of that chapter emboldened – but still not truly free.
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Nico Ev wrote this song during lockdown, she tells us "The challenge of being apart from loved ones and missing out on family connections was very difficult.
It was particularly hard to accept that I was missing out on watching the little ones in our family grow and flourish in their formative years. I'm grateful to have the sound of their laughter back in my life."
Some well deserved quotes about Nico - "Nico definitely deserves to be heard beyond her online performances." - "Every time I've seen Nico play, her musical talent, combined with her warmth, sincerity and relaxed interaction with the audience, has resulted in a great gig."
“I love the varied mix of her original songs with both little and well-known covers, the upbeat energy and vibrancy of her playing.” - “A unique and lovely voice.”
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Emerging Glasgow trio Brenda release Cease and Desist, the first single from their upcoming self-titled debut album with Last Night From Glasgow. The single is out 24th February, the album follows in July.
Brenda are Litty Hughes on guitar, Apsi Witana on drums and Flore de Hooge on synths. They’ve created a buzz by gigging across Glasgow - their energetic sets described as the type that “end up seared onto your brain after a single viewing” with their “impudent, inventive and extremely DIY punk-pop” (The Scotsman). Dreamy synths, witty lyrics and unapologetic enthusiasm - Brenda is your new favourite band.
“The most exciting set of the evening came from Glasgow all-female trio Brenda…their name daubed on a collapsing bedsheet behind them, like they were signalling to the media from the roof of a prison riot.” - The Scotsman
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Today Julia Sound have released their new single "I Don't Wanna Change" from their upcoming album "Nothing Above The Blue Sky" (set for release on May 12 Via Boomsmack Records)
Julia Sound is a collective led by Lin Gardiner, a British-Canadian BC-based artist, composer, musician and producer. Julia Sound released their debut album ‘Heal’ in the summer of 2021 to critical acclaim. They are set to release a second full-length offering ‘Nothing Above the Blue Sky’ in May of 2023.
‘Nothing Above The Blue Sky’ is a collection of evocative, ethereal, vocal-led electronica, with 10 new songs including features by Kinnie Starr, Edzi’u and Larissa Tandy, amongst others. Different singers feature on each track, all pulled together by Gardiner. The lyrical component of the songs leans into subjects perhaps shied away from in more commercial projects - stories of loss, war, mental health as well as hope.
Inspiration for Julia Sound’s name is from an unexplained sound discovered by scientists in the 90’s. The sound, which scientists named ‘The Julia Sound’, is mysterious and dark - which can also be said for this project's tone and mood.
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