she’s signed to a grammy award winning producer, released multiple eps by now, her songs got played on bbc radio, she played a session for songs from the shed and many other “proper” shows – so it’s safe to say that natalie mccool isn’t necessarily a new artist in the business but it still seems like not enough people have recognised her incredible talent yet. what makes her so different?! many things. it’s not just her voice that sets her apart from other female artists. it’s the way her vocals, her lyrics and her sound work together. dark and mysterious, yet so fragile and innocent. it’s this great mix that makes her music so interesting. thankfully i’ve known and been in touch with her for a while now, so she didn’t hesitate for a second when i asked her if she’d answer a few questions for me.
question: you’re signed to grammy award winner steve levine and his label hubris records. how did that come about?
natelie: i won yamaha’s national songwriting competition 'make it break it' when I was in my second year of study at LIPA (the liverpool institute for performing arts). steve levine was one of the judges on the panel which included coldplay’s chris martin, promoter harvey goldsmith, and bbc radio 2’s mark radcliffe. after i performed at the MIBI awards ceremony, steve signed me to his label hubris records.
the double a-side single ‘fortune/on fire’ is your most recent release. how come you went for a double a-side this time and not for a new ep?
after the release of my 'black sun ep', i went into the studio to record some of my new songs with steve my producer, the new songs included both 'on fire' and 'fortune'. after recording the songs we began the process of choosing which track should be the single or 'lead track' on the next ep, but after listening to all the tracks we just couldn't decide whether it should be 'fortune' or 'on fire', because we felt that they were both so strong - so we decided we would release them both as singles - using the old vinyl terminology of 'double a side', obviously meaning two tracks both released as singles on the same record.
a couple of weeks ago you posted a video for your song ‘america’ which was partly written by sir paul mccartney. can you tell us how this happened?
sir paul mccartney is the lead patron of my old university LIPA in liverpool. the LIPA building is actually his old grammar school! every year sir paul visits LIPA and holds a masterclass for all the music students who have taken the songwriting module in their final year. as i had chosen songwriting, i was given a one to one masterclass with him - can you imagine how surreal that was! i decided that i was going to play him a song that i hadn't yet finished - 'america' - just to see what advice he could give me - i had a couple of ideas about the bridge section, but i couldn’t decide exactly where to go with the chord progression. so i played it to sir paul, and to my surprise he picked up his own guitar and began to play along! he jammed out some chords to the bridge section, and that same chord progression has remained part of the song ever since!
what would you say is your personal highlight of your career so far?
it has got to be meeting and jamming with sir paul mccartney! but another great highlight was when my support slot for joan armatrading was confirmed. joan is on a uk tour this year and i’m supporting her at the bridgewater hall in manchester, 4th november. by coincidence i met her just recently at a uk music event held at the houses of parliament, she is so cool.
you’ve released three eps and a double a-side so far. what’s next on your agenda in terms of new material and live shows?
i'm about to release my latest ep which is planned for release this summer. i’m also in the process of making a couple of videos, and i've got a show supporting jesca hoop at LEAF in liverpool on the 28th june (also my birthday!). i have a number of other shows booked too, the live dates and latest news are on my website at http://www.nataliemccool.co.uk !
massive thanks again to natalie for taking the time to do this short interview. keep an eye on her website for future live and release dates. natalie is also on facebook and twitter, so make sure to check her out and say hi!
some people asked me a while ago how i came across doyle & the fourfathers, and to be honest, i have no idea. i would guess it was entirely by accident. thinking about it now, obviously i’m glad i did find them, even though i can’t remember how or when.
their song welcome to austerity got me hooked, so i jumped at the chance to see doyle & the fourfathers live last month. what was the verdict? absolutely brilliant show. despite being somewhat familiar to their music, i didn’t really know what to expect. the energy they had on stage was absolutely insane though – in a very good way. the only sad thing was that their set was pretty short. i could’ve easily listened to ten more songs. the current line-up includes lead-singer and songwriter guitarist william doyle on acoustic guitar, drummer alex urch and ben clark on electric guitar. originally from southampton, now based in london, they released their debut album man made early last year, their newest release will be titled olympics critical.
interested in finding out more about the band, their music and their intentions, i got in touch with them and lead-singer william kindly agreed to answer some questions for me.
william doyle, alex urch and ben clark
question: after seeing you guys live in manchester last month, i’ve been recommending you to friends, family and basically anyone who was willing to listen. people kept asking me what kind of music you’re doing. how would you describe your sound?
william: we usually go for "alternative pop" because it probably covers a wide spectrum. we don't really have a set "sound" per se, as we pride making each song have its own distinct flavour. we seem to be expanding all the time though so perhaps that classification won't be relevant forever...
i’ve read quite a few reviews and articles about you and it seems like people often compare you to jarvis cocker, ray davies or neil hannon from the divine comedy. do you mind these comparisons or do you think they’re flattering?
very flattered indeed. these are bands we listen to a lot and have been influenced by, so it's good to know people are picking those up and believe that we are worthy of the comparison.
since michael goozee (who played bass in dt4f) left the band earlier this year, do you plan on replacing him or do you think you’re going to continue as a three piece from now on?
we do plan on returning to a full band very soon. we had our friend karl jump in for a run of shows which was great but now we're looking for someone permanent. maybe even a keyboard player too!
some people claim that with welcome to austerity, your songs have become too political. supposedly this is a bit of a shame as most of those people think that your unique sound stands out by itself and that you don’t require such drastic measures to get your music heard. what made you address political issues in your lyrics? do you think it’s necessary to write about it?
before i wrote welcome to austerity i noticed a distinct lack of political music in (especially) british pop music. i thought this was a dire situation because there are plenty of issues to talk about and be raised and, as bands and songwriters have many times in previous eras, music is a great forum for discussing and airing opinions and ideas, especially in relation to politics. i think it is very necessary to write about it. i think many more people should do it. the problem is, as a band or a songwriter, it's quite easy for people to see you have a political song and then dismiss you or even worse pigeonhole you for the remainder of your run. this was just a gesture i wanted to express at a time when i felt it was most urgently needed. i see plan b has a vaguely political new song and that's topped the chart over here so well done to him. maybe it's time for me to move on now.
you’ve already released an album, an ep and two singles. your new ep olympics critical is coming out soon. what else do you have in the pipeline in terms of new music or tour dates?
we are writing a new album at the moment. we've taken a couple of months out to write the basics of it. it's all sounding quite different. let's see what happens!
we return to the stage in june... here are the dates so far:
sat 23rd june - the leopard, doncaster (free!)
friday 6th july - old cock in, droitwich spa music festival (also free!)
saturday 7th july - armitage bridge club, huddersfield - monkeyfest six
then two dates with our friends the undertones:
thursday 12th july - the playhouse, whitley bay
friday 13th july - the duchess, york
keep checking www.dt4f.com for more dates. we're putting them up all the time!
doyle & the fourfathers - welcome to austerity
many many thanks again to william for taking the time to do the short interview. as he said, keep an eye on their website for all the latest news about upcoming releases and tourdates. you may also wish to check out their facebook page (which is also where you can find the photo posted at the beginning) or follow them twitter.
the following message landed in my inbox about four months ago - "hi caroline, here’s another tip for you. maybe you’ll like it." a link was attached but that was it, no further information or any explanation at all. blindsided at first, i had no idea what to expect. little did i know that i was in for a special treat. the link brought me to nigel wright’s website, a few more clicks to his song solid muse and that pretty much sealed the deal.
when you first hear that nigel lives by the blue ridge mountains in georgia (usa) and that he plays folk music, it seems like he fits right into this cliché of folk and perhaps even alt-country singer-songwriters. but nevertheless, nigel wright’s debut album millfoil shows that there’s much more to his music. millfoil has a clear line running through it from advance to the title track at the end. it’s an eclectic mix of well-crafted songs with vocals that seem extremely strong but yet so fragile at the same time. imagine william fitzsimmons’ songs with tom fleming on lead vocals. it’s not quite the same but it comes close. the fact that his voice sounds so unbelievably mature for his young age, easily got me hooked right from the beginning.
the influence of 70s folk musicians like james taylor, cat stevens or even carole king in his music is unmistakable, but nigel wright moves beyond this tradition of early 70s folk and creates a sound that leaves you not only impressed but most of all moved. i wouldn't say he invented a new genre, but his music is clearly about more than just a pretty voice, some simple lyrics and a guitar beat that you can tap your foot along to. it’s not hard to convince us that he’s "kind of nice to have around" (upside) and when he sings "you make me feel so safe" (solid muse), that’s all there is to it. his music indeed makes you feel safe, makes you forget everything around you in pretty much the same way as josh tillman helped us to do so over the last couple of years, especially with year in the kingdom.
with millfoil, nigel wright definitely proves that it’s easy to be true to a certain genre and still add a modern touch to it by combining it with the sound of an electric guitar for example. all the songs on the album seem to follow the same pattern, yet they all can stand on their own. each song tells a different story and therefore makes the album so diverse, but they also easily work together as a unit. nigel’s new single anna/clear eyed plans is only one of many different sides millfoil has to offer (even though the single is not actually on the album).
"folk singers may be of an ilk that rarely goes multi-platinum, but their work truly resonates with people of all walks of life, and their legacy is astounding" (kim ruehl)
i certainly do hope that nigel will get the attention he deserves but either way, his music already has an immense impact on the way people (or at least i) look at singer-songwriters in folk music - or even in general.
anna (live - church sessions)
ever since i first listened to nigel’s music, i wanted to find out more about him, his motivations and his music. luckily i had the chance to do so by asking him a few questions myself and here’s what he had to say.
question: both of your parents are painters (the wrights gallery) and you’re doing music, so there’s no doubt that your entire family is obviously talented. how come you chose to do music? did you want to do it professional right from the start or did you have a plan b?
nigel: since my dad sang and played guitar in a celtic band during the 80s i've been interested in playing guitar since i was 14 and he helped me get started with a few chords - but it wasn't until a year later that i really started to experiment with song writing. my renewed interest came after i heard two records. the first, and most importantly, was a record called for cedar by eleanor murray, my cousin. i was fascinated and inspired by how she accomplished such intense feelings in her music with such minimal arrangements. the second record was bon iver's for emma, forever ago, which increased my fascination to the point where i actually sat down in front of my eight track and started to try things. after i had gotten my first bad songs out of the way, and actually had one worth keeping, the experience had given me such a joy that i asked my dad what i needed to do next if i wanted to do this professionally and have a chance of making it my life. he said first write an album, and so i wrote millfoil. since then i've tried to approach music as professionally as i can.
you’re signed to the german record label butterfly collectors, which is based in berlin and haldern, and you’re living in georgia, usa. how did this professional relationship come about?
after the artistic duo springerparker founded butterfly collectors last year, to distribute their music on their own terms, they were on the look out for artists that they felt fit into the vision of their label. a friend mentioned that they should check out this new zealand based ambient noise musician called nigel wright. what ended up happening though was that when they searched for him on the internet all that they could find was this other musician, also called nigel wright, who wrote singer-songwriter music. they got in touch with him (me) on facebook, and explained what they were all about, and asked if i would be interested in being their first artist. it was easy to say yes after seeing and hearing their work.
didn’t it feel a little unreal though or simply too good to be true at first?
definitely. it took me a few weeks to get used to the fact that this was happening. working with a label was something i had frequently dreamed about, but i never expected it to happen so soon.
you’ve just been to germany to record some live sessions with your band (clay dean and jamey merritt), and to switzerland for the one of a million festival. while in switzerland, you did a radio interview with tina nägeli for soundsofa on drs virus. you said in that interview that you started writing songs when you were 15 and that most of those songs ended up on your debut album millfoil. when you sing those songs now, do you still feel the same way about the lyrics as you did when you wrote them? or do sometimes think "well, this could’ve been better"?
i definitely feel i've gotten better at writing lyrics since then, but that fact doesn't make me "roll my eyes" so to say, when i play the millfoil songs now. though there are things in the millfoil lyrics i would avoid in a song i might write now, those things just add to millfoil's charm and specialness for me. (just to clarify, i was writing songs when i was fifteen, but the good ones came after i had turned 16, and all of those became millfoil.)
what or who inspires you to write songs?
good music and good books, especially good music that i hear in the perfect context, even if the context is a simple one, for instance, just driving down the mountain to the store when spring begins to kick in. after those moments pass, i'm usually left with a feeling of yearning to create something that might have the same effect - might make someone else's trip to the grocery store, or wherever, the greatest.
some musicians say that the best songs take ages to write – would you agree or do you think even songs that were written in a short matter of time (or simply very easy to write) can turn out to be absolutely great?
i think it's more complicated than that. writing great songs can come easily and/or quickly at times, but to even have the chance of that happening, sometimes you have to slave over other ideas for weeks. it's all about having a strong work ethic for developing your "voice" without compromise. when you do that, even if that song you slaved over never came together, the things you learned, despite if you didn't understand the lesson, will contribute to some others in the future. nothing's wasted - at least, that's my theory.
when you came to europe in january, did you experience the typical culture shock? i remember from living in the united states that it took me a while to get used to a few things. was there anything that really struck you while you were here?
the shapes of things - if that even counts as culture. everything from the shapes of cars to toilets to doorknobs to food containers and kitchen utensils freaked me out a little. other than that, i didn't feel like it was that hard to adjust.
millfoil is available digitally now, the cd version will be released on march 16th and you’re already confirmed to play at this year’s haldern pop festival in august. what else can we expect from you this year?
i will be touring europe in the summer and also for a month or two sometime in the fall with my band, during which vinyl copies of millfoil and the anna single will be available. also, a total of seven live music videos will be released online, four feature me performing solo and the other three include the band. the four solo videos, titled "barefoot sessions volume 1" will be digitally and physically for sale at the end of may. finally in october, a studio version of the millfoil record will be released, which features all the songs with 3 piece band arrangements. this will also come with a "scrapbook" documenting the summer tour.
barriers (live - barefoot sessions)
you will of course find the other five videos from the church session and the barefoot session, as well as all upcoming tourdates, here on the blog. anna/clear eyed plans is available as a download in all good online music stores, such as amazon (us/uk/germany etc.) and itunes. millfoil is already available as a download too via the butterfly collectors website, where you can also pre-order the cd version. you can find nigel wright on facebook.
many thanks to mirko bogedaly from haldern pop for introducing me to nigel's music, special thanks to oli parker and maik springer from butterfly collectors for making this interview possible and of course massive thanks to nigel wright for answering my questions and most of all his wonderful record.
one of the first bands i came to discover here was blind atlas, and to be fair, they are probably one of the best manchester bands as well. it was incredibly easy to get into their sound and when i finally got the chance to see them live, their performance was just as great as i expected. gorgeous lyrics, haunting vocals and a unique sound simply never fail to impress.
when it comes to blind atlas, i just keep wondering why they still seem to be some sort of insider tip. they’re simply one of those bands that i think deserve much more attention. lead singer ross thompson is joined by adam jones, christian jacobs, pete garner, cameron baxter and to make the line-up complete, helen 'bels' temperley. their music is quite multifaceted as they combine different genres in their songs, which is easy to tell just by listening to their debut ep iron wall and the singles take a while and 4th street. in my humble opinion, blind atlas seriously need to become more well-known – and not just outside of manchester, but outside of the uk in general.
blind atlas
and that’s exactly the reason why i wanted them to be this month’s feature. massive thanks again to blind atlas for kindly agreeing to answer a few questions for me. now here’s what they had to say.
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question: since the internet doesn’t reveal too much about you guys, it would great if you could tell us a little bit about yourselves – where did you meet, how would you describe your music and so on.
ross: i moved here from boston, massachusetts, i'm from denver in colorado originally. i was looking to start a band and met cam and adam. adam was wearing a flying burrito bros t-shirt which got the conversation going... we arranged a jam and it went from there.
adam: that was a couple of years ago, i had been in a few bands together with cam previously, they weren't great.
cam: chris was looking at 'wanted' ads in a music shop... specifically 'wanted drummer' ads, so i basically wrestled him to the ground and forced him to come to a jam.
chris: which worked out very well...
ross: we played a gig with a band bels was in, and asked her to play on some of our tracks. bels can play viola, violin, keys and backing vocals.
cam: bels and chris put some great harmonies on some of the tracks.
adam: pete was already a friend and was in a band we're friends with.
pete: i was playing in a band called 'walton hesse'. i'm still great friends with them but i left and then took up the invitation to join blind atlas.
cam: it was really great he joined. helped to fill gaps in the sound and having someone new reinvigorates what you do.
pete: i play guitar and keys, we all have various musical tastes and the way we all play gels really well.
adam: in terms of describing our music, i think if we said country it puts a negative image in people's heads in the uk. americana has a more acceptable image, but it doesn't really describe what we do. yes, we do have some songs which fall into that box, but actually we have some songs which defy that genre. we are not rootsy, traditional guys who are looking to be authentic to a perceived notion of the 'americana sound'. we have the edge on most folksy bands in this country as we have someone who actually sings in his own accent. also the songs we write are deeply personal. i like to think when you hear us and see us live, you are looking at a band which is opening itself up to you totally.
q: country still seems to be some sort of taboo here. although it’s not like americana is much different, or even folk. lots of bands who were part of this big folk hype during the last couple of years sure used country elements and still do, yet almost none would admit that. why do you think most people in the uk still share this negative image of country music? adam: i think country is perceived to be rather conservative music and therefore people who say they like it are deemed to be so. a lot of what comes out of nashville can definitely be said to be so, but that's the just the commercial aspect of the industry there. folk music of the british isles was seen as being backward, after the revival in the 60s and early 70s it pretty much disappeared off the radar till the last ten years or so. americana really hit here after 'o brother, where art thou?' came out, with bluegrass and the traditional songs from the south. all these types, country, folk etc. as you said, have all got similar links to each other, but country is taboo because of the gun owning, apple pie image which the nashville industry pumps out on a regular basis. possibly that might be a bit of snobbery there too, as country could be seen as a working class genre. the country clubs/pubs in the uk are rarely frequented if ever by students or white collar types.
q: you can already show off a quite impressive list of bands that you supported live, such as the features, lucy wainwright roche and of course the travelling band. is there a special band you'd love to support in the future? or perhaps a band you wish would open for you at one of your headline shows? ross: i think supporting the bees was a highlight for me, the atmosphere at their show was just crazy and they were really nice guys. i'd support them again any day, or have them support us, why not!
q: sadly i've only had the chance to see you live once so far. your acoustic set at 'shut the far cupboard' was great, i enjoyed every second of it. do you usually prefer small (acoustic) events like stfc or do you rather play proper gigs at slightly bigger venues?
pete: personally i like them both. it's good to be able to do both types. sometimes all you wanna do is rock out and be as loud as you can, but other times you want people to be able to hear what you're saying and actually listen rather then just be there, if that makes sense. so to answer, as long as we can do both, i'm happy.
q: the new year is already a few days old but there are still tons of 'best of 2011'-lists getting published each day. what was your personal favourite record of 2011?
cam:ashes and fire by ryan adams was a good one, as was brothers* by the black keys.
(*note: brothers was released in 2010, el camino in december 2011)
q: finally, what can we expect from you in 2012?
chris: well, we have an animation due out later this month for the title track of our debut album kodiak bear, with a few more videos hopefully to follow, before the album is released in april.
adam: we are also looking to maybe do a mini tour, but you'll have to keep an eye on our facebook fan page for any details. but we do have gigs in manchester and london in the next few months.
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blind atlas - my proud mountains
check the blind atlas facebook page for all news, gig announcements, new videos and to find out more about the release of their debut album kodiak bear. they're also on twitter, so make sure to give them a shout on there as well.
as chris said, kodiak bear will be out in april. of course you can expect an album review here, so make sure to check back. until then, you should do yourself a favour and have a listen to their singles and the iron wall ep. all songs are available on itunes, amazon and other good online music shops.
