Happy Ears and Tapping Toes

Homeward Bound

2008-08-15T02:13:00.000-07:00

>>> After I post today’s blog I’ve got to jump on the tube to Victoria before hoping on a coach to Leeds. I’m going ‘home’ for the weekend. In the past four years I have lived in Winchester, Southampton, Uganda and London and even though my parents and sister have long left the area, I guess I will always refer to Huddersfield as home. Having spent the first nineteen years of my life in the town I feel an intrinsic link to the area. The places, the people, the cold Northern wind, it all adds up to an extremely personal fixation. In her home-coming tune ‘California’ Joni Mitchell excitedly sings “I’m going to see the folks I dig” and I feel the same when I think of this weekend. Not that we can easily compare Huddersfield with California but you get my point!

There is a great tradition across all musical genres of singing songs about coming home. From Sweet Home Alabama to Take Me Home, Country Road some of the most memorable songs written have been based on this simple theme. Whether it’s because of a sense of identity associated with home or just a real longing for consistency and the familiar after months on tour, it’s a topic that crops up time and time again in music. And it’s not just those musicians who have been on the road for years and years, even young folk and acoustic singers are crooning about the joys of home. Scottish wonder-kids Amy MacDonald and Paulo Nutini have written remarkably similar songs of passion for their homelands in ‘The Road to Home’ and ‘Caledonia’ respectively. Rachel Unthank and the Winterset’s adoration for her Northumberland home of Hexhamshire is turned in to the gorgeously haunting ‘Farewell Regality’ on their Mercury nominated album ‘The Bairns’.

A singer I was hoping to catch whilst in town is one who doesn’t so much sing about going home but simply sings about being home. Making reference to numerous towns of West Yorkshire, local landmarks, pubs and nightclubs in his simple and friendly folk songs, Roger Davis has captured the imaginations of local fans with a witty album, cheekily named ‘Northern Trash’. Citing the film ‘Brassed Off’, poet Simon Armitage and the Brighouse & Rastrick Brassband amongst his influences, Davies’ songs can’t fail to make me feel homesick.

>>> What’s all this nonsense about ‘Anti-Folk’? I can’t understand why some of the music press are using this term when referring to Laura Marling and the likes. If a band’s musically style has clearly been influenced by a specific genre but adds a modern twist to said genre, does that really make it ‘anti’? When Blues influenced Rock and Roll they didn’t call it the Anti-Blues. Emo clearly borrows heavily from punk music but it isn’t the Anti-Punk. The necessity to fit a band into a certain genre has meant that some of the music press use this term ‘anti-folk’ to describe any young acoustic guitar wielding band these days. In my mind, if the genre needs a name it is simply ‘modern’ folk music. In the same way that Modern Art subverted the ideals of the traditional establishment yet used the same old paint and canvas, modern folk takes acoustic guitars, banjos and strings and adds a mainstream twist. But surely this isn’t anti-folk. Or is it? If anyone disagrees on this point, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below...

Until next week.

Searching for some doom and gloom!

2008-08-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

>>> It’s been just a few short months since I made the move to the ‘big smoke’ and set up home in a rather trendy area of South London. On first look it seemed like a great place to live with plenty of good bars and restaurants, a large green space and many of my friends close-by. And indeed I have found myself a nice lifestyle in this pleasant area but there is one significant problem. Try as I might, I’m struggling to find any decent regular live music within walking distance of my flat.

I work in a somewhat run down area of North London and in contrast, each week I see a plethora of guitar wielding musicians walking down the High Road and have noted a fine choice of bars with regular music evenings advertised on their windows and sandwich boards. From Camden to Brixton, throughout the decades, it has been the economically weaker areas of the city which have often produced the greatest creativity.

Ted Hughes once said that “Every work of art stems from a wound in the soul of the artist.” If this is true then perhaps I have moved to the wrong area of town for hard-knocks. Looking into the history of an array of greats and lates of the folk and acoustic music scene it would appear that Hughes’ analysis is on the mark. Woody Guthrie’s childhood was plagued with tragedy with his sister and father dying in fires and his mentally-ill mother committed to an asylum. Joni Mitchell dropped out of college pregnant at the tender age of twenty before heart wrenchingly giving up the baby for adoption and Bob Dylan had a humble childhood in a Minnesota mining town with his immigrant parents, leaving home abruptly at eighteen. Most of my modern day acoustic heroes show no hope of breaking this tradition of doom and gloom with Damien Rice, another college drop out, forced to leave home by disappointed parents and the melancholy Ray Lamontagne’s poverty stricken childhood with a violent father and mother who moved him from pillar to post.

As a writer, I’ve had my fair share of creative melodrama. Call me a heathen, but right now I’m quite content to live happily amongst the trendy young things. But at least I have finally found an acoustic night in the listings for next week and it is a night which I have high hopes for – walking distance, well no, but it’s only a bus ride away!

>>> I was at my in-laws the other day when I heard the dull-sweet sound of Cat Stevens coming from my mum-in-law’s study. At least it sounded like Cat Stevens but I didn’t recognise the song. It was, of course, Yusuf Islam and his album ‘An Other Cup’. After converting to Islam at the height of his fame, back in 1977, Cat, now called Yusuf, waited nearly 30 years to release another ‘pop’ album back in 2006. Don’t think I’m out of touch, I realise the album was released nearly two years ago and at the time I followed Yusuf’s return to the music scene with excitement but for one reason or another, I just never got round to buying the album. Listening to it now for the first time I must say that in 30 years his style hasn’t changed much (apart from the odd references to Islam) but what I can say it that it is a most welcome return.

Here comes the summer!

2008-07-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

>>> It’s been a beautiful week in London with lazy days lying on the common and balmy evenings sat outside with cool drinks. It amazes me that anyone would want to leave the country right now yet the next few weeks encompass the busiest time of year at UK ferry and airports with Brits heading off abroad in search of summer holiday bliss.

It’s been a couple of years since I had a proper summer holiday but I can warmly recall packing a tent into the boot of my dinky, racing-green coloured car (affectionately known as Pacey) as I set off with my other-half for a ten night adventure to the Emerald Isle. Traversing the south coast from west to east, and back again, the weather was unusually kind and we managed to see many an inspired view of a country I hold close to my heart. It was on the Wednesday evening when we found ourselves in a traditional Irish pub in the small fishing town of Clonakilty. An hour passed by drinking stout, playing cards and chatting with some Australian tourists. Nothing seemed particularly special about the bar where we sat apart from some unusual music memorabilia hanging on the walls. Another half hour passed before the young Australian, returning to his family from the bathroom, announced that there was live music in a room at the back of the bar.

A smoky, darkly lit backroom scattered with intimate wooden tables and a tiny stage, we came to realise, was ‘Ireland’s number one’ folk club, De Barra, musical home to Jimi Henderix’s band mate Noel Redding amongst others. The regular Wednesday night slot is filled by a variety performance of exciting acoustic acts known as ‘The Sitting Room Sessions’ and hosted by local musician Gavin Moore. We had inadvertently stumbled upon what was to be the most memorable evening of our holiday. Five hugely talented acts played that evening but the stand-out performance came from Galway duo UltanJohn. Ultan Conlon and John Conneely’s beautiful live harmonies and intricate melodies made me sit-up and pay attention in a way that is exceptionally rare for a first listen to a newly discovered band. A few months later however and I was gutted to discover that the two had parted ways in order to pursue their solo ambitions. Ultan’s solo act is more of a mainstream sounding mix of rock and indie with acoustic guitar and the occasional banjo. John’s music remains guitar driven and led by his hugely distinctive vocal performance that can only be described as somewhere between a gruff Anthony and the Johnsons and an Irish Ray LaMontagne. And whilst the two have produced some tremendous songs independently, for me, you can’t beat the collaboration of the two distinct sounds fused together to produce a highly original musical delight. I’m sure that one day my travels will take me back to Clonakilty and I’ll be sure to stop by De Barras in search of my next new favourite band.

>>> Not so much a music festival but more a chance to eat your own body weight in ice cream, I ventured to Ben & Jerry’s Sundae on Clapham Common at the weekend. A middle-of-the-road selection of artists included The Troubadours, Charlotte Hatherley and The Charlatans. I couldn’t help but find myself dancing to Delays however, even with feeling sick from ice cream indulgence and heat exhaustion, the band’s infectious guitar pop got me on my feet. It surprises me that Delays has yet to break into the big-time musical realms occupied by the likes of Razorlight and the Kooks, in-spite of producing three albums worth of radio friendly tunes which are far more original than anything produced by their peers. Surely its only a matter of time...

See you soon x

Laura's Mercury Magic

2008-07-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

>>>This year’s Mercury Music Prize nominations are, as usual, something of a mixed bunch in attempt to showcase the most exciting albums from across the whole musical spectrum. In the mainstream, Radio 1 favourites (and alleged bitch flight specialists) Adele and Estelle have both received a nod from the panel. Alex Turner completes a hat-trick of nominations, this time for his efforts with The Last Shadow Puppets, adding proof (as if we needed it) that his 2006 Mercury success was no fluke.

Some familiar old faces were welcomed back to the British music scene this year and Radiohead, Robert Planet (with Alison Krauss) and (former Super Furry Animal) Gruff Rhys returning with new act Neon Neon were recognised for their efforts.

The biggest surprise for me however came upon learning that my favourite album of year had actually made it into the Mercury’s top twelve. It’s been nearly two years since I headed to a (then) local pub in a run-down suburb of Southampton in order to watch a young singer that I had such high hopes for. Laura Marling, not old enough to order a pint, stood on the tiny stage with acoustic guitar at hand, looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. Yet in spite of her nervous performance, I felt sure that this girl had talent and kept a keen eye on her MySpace page for further news.

Returning home from Africa in late March this year, one of my highest priorities (after having a long hot bath and eating lots of chocolate) was to buy a copy of Marling’s debut album 'Alas I Can Not Swim'. Finally I found the spare cash to make my long awaited purchase and I’ve been hooked ever since. Although it wasn’t love at first listen, once on to my fourth or fifth turn, I suddenly realised that I was listening to something very special.

Wise beyond her years, Marling mixes gentle folk inspired guitar music with clever, witty and touching lyrics. The sheer classiness of her songs marks her out as unique amongst the plethora of mediocre female singer-songwriters who’ve been launched over the past few years on the back of KT Tunstall’s success. If she can keep her feet on the ground, Laura Marling has the talent to still be in the limelight once the one-album wonders around her have long disappeared. Worth mentioning too is Charlie Fink’s (of Noah and the Whale) beautiful production of each song. His talent helps to made the album truly stunning.

>>>I had to smile when I saw that the sublime Rachel Unthank and the Winterset had received a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. Remarkably I only discovered this Northern folk quartet last week when they played at the Lovebox Weekender. It has to be the first time (and probably the last) that I’ve ever seen a band playing a mainstream music festival incorporate a traditional clog dance into the set. Pure class!

Until next week, Charlotte x

Why write a blog?

2008-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Since the dawn of Blogging I’ve always been a bit cynical about why people have blogs. Although I’m a fan of diary writing, I always felt that by having an online diary, in the form of a blog, it was somehow self indulged in a narcissistic “Look how smart and interesting and witty I am” kind of way. The truth of the matter is, I never thought that anyone would be interested in what I had to say.

In a masochist twist to my personality however, I’ve always been a writer. Unbeknown to the vast majority of mankind, I have already completed not one but two novels for teenagers, numerous articles and reviews of music and travel destinations and four short-stories. But up until very recently they have remained locked away somewhere under my bed next to a stack of old bank statements and P45s.

After recently spending eight months in East Africa, I’ve returned to the UK a changed person – a person who is determined to dust off my manuscripts and share my writing with other people. And so, for the first time in, well, forever, I actually need to find out if people are interested in what I have to say.

And so with this blog I intend to unleash upon the world a regular dose of my musical musings as a good way of improving my writing style and hopefully to promote some of the lesser known talents of the musical world.

With trepidation I post this, my first ever solo blog. I just hope, with crossed fingers and a blink of the eye, that someone, somewhere, will enjoy what I have to say.

Big love til next time,

Charlotte (a blogger!)