every time i take a trip somewhere to see a band, i’m worried if the trip will be worth it in the end, even if i already know that the band is great live. there’s always this little voice inside my head that keeps saying - "please let the band be good!" much to my reassurance, thinking this in case of ahab is just a waste of time and energy, because there’s simply no need to worry about anything when it comes to their live shows. still buzzing from their london show the weekend before, i made my way down to bath for another great performance.
singer-songwriter ash hancock was up first. he basically fits right into this nice circle of singer-songwriters that’s out there right now. ash and his guitar didn’t have much stage presence due to him sitting, but that almost didn’t matter. despite the sometimes pretty scratchy vocals, he delivered a decent set. if you’re into acoustic folk music, he might just be your new favourite.
normally i’m one of those friendly people that shows up early to see the support act too, because that’s the only decent thing to do if you ask me. and most of the times, the support is actually quite good but at an ahab gig, no matter how good the support might be, you just want them to be done as quickly as possible. in nerve-wracking anticipation of ahab, there’s just no time for any supports.
8.40 pm and ahab finally entered the stage; and enter is the right word here as they’re definitely one of those bands that simply owns the stage once they start playing. they kicked their set off with the wonderful lucy, easily one of my favourites. this song might be so brilliant because it works in every way – either as a full band version or as an acoustic version. moving right along to some of their signature tunes including lightnin bug, we didn’t have to wait long for the first highlight of the night. lots of bands covered wagon wheel over the years but i think it’s safe to say that rarely one of them did it with such energy. if their version of wagon wheel doesn't put you in a good mood, nothing ever will.
new tune love is hell is only one of many songs that requires some serious instrument swapping (except for grahame rolfe on drums who stays true to his roots). the "normal" line-up (if there actually is one) includes callum adamson on 12-string guitar, seebs lewellyn on bass, luke price on mandolin and dave burn on acoustic guitar. but the fact that they all seem to play every instrument on stage at least once during their show, just makes them even more authentic as a band. love is hell finally shows off callum’s vocal talent as he takes over the lead vocals for the first time. if they know what's good for them, we will see this song (and other new ones like soho and love and you and me) on their upcoming album that's due later this year.
another thing that ahab accomplished (unlike many other bands, except for the travelling band perhaps) is that their live performance made me fall in love with one of their songs that i wasn’t too keen on before. like roses never grabbed me on cd, but is now on the best way to become one of my favourites.
after a stunning 17-song set, i was dreading the encore. not because i didn’t want an encore but because i knew what was about to come next. i’m not sure if my father’s eyes is the best ahab song to date (regardless of how you would define "best" in this context), it certainly is the one that moved me to tears. after an absolutely horrendous outburst during this song in london the week before, it did not lose any of its magic and had me in tears again, which was probably mostly due to them singing it unplugged off stage in the audience. they didn’t give me much time to sob though as rosebud provided a perfect end to another amazing evening.
so what’s the verdict of my 5th ahab live experience? even if you’re normally not into alt-country/folk music, you can’t help but enjoy those guys. they make it extremely easy to fall in love with their music because the fun they have on stage is just infectious. amazing four-piece harmonies, songs that get you dancing and crying at the same time and a bunch of very talented musicians – what else could you possibly ask for?
ahab - love is hell (live in bath)
there are various ways that you can connect with ahab - website, facebook, twitter, youtube. make sure to check the website for all upcoming tour dates. check them out live if you have the chance; i guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.
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.
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.
that name sounds familiar? of course it does or at least it should. with the release of her new double a-side single on fire / fortune,natalie mccool proves once more why she was one of THE discoveries of 2011 for me.
in contrast to her previous eps shoot shoot and black sun, the new release shows natalie from a slightly different side – not as dark and thoughtful most of the times but still as brilliant as ever. what both on fire and fortune have in common are, again, the outstanding lyrics which seem to revel in soothing tones and strong beats at the same time.
as previously mentioned a lot, natalie’s biggest talent is solely her voice. her clear vocals make her music even more of a pleasure to listen to as it already is just by focusing on the gorgeous melodies. when she sings "sold my soul and danced with the devil, lost my guiding light" (on fire) and "a cobalt curse, i’m blind with pain" (fortune), it certainly makes the listener feel like she put a lot of herself into those lyrics. they just come across as very sincere and honest which probably is the whole point of great song-writing anyway.
the video for fortune manages to capture the essence of the song: "oh what use is silver? what good comes of gold? built myself a temple, trapped behind the walls." there are no fast or hasty movements but slow and flowing motions that perfectly keep in tone with the melody. but have a look and a listen yourself below.
the video for on fire will be released soon and you can definitely expect to see it here. meanwhile you should buy the double a-side here and enjoy the great video for fortune.
there is a whole lot more on nigel wright coming your way in the near future but here's a little something to get you all going - or basically as hooked as me.
nigel and his band, clay and jamey, went to berlin in january to record some live sessions, which were filmed by nigel's label butterfly collectors (which was founded in 2011 by maik springer and oli parker aka springerparker). seven videos will be released at some point or another, barriers being the first one. this song is taken from nigel's album millfoil which is available for digital download here (you can also pre-order the cd version there).
after his first european show at the haldern pop bar last month, nigel will be a part of this year's one of a million music festival in switzerland. he's going to play at the hotel du parc in baden this saturday (4th february). the showcase starts at 6.30pm and admission is free, so if you're around make sure to catch nigel's performance.
as i said, you will find all the other videos here as well, so keep checking back for more on nigel wright. but right now, here's barriers...
