I have wanted to make playlists for this blog for ages, and this morning I was having a read around ‘s blog (amazing blog, check it out) and I realised that Soundcloud allow you to make sets!? I don’t know why I never realised this before, as I’ve listened to loads of sets but never thought about making one.So this first playlist is a summary of my favourite tracks of this last month. Be prepared for playlists for every occasion, festival and season of the year. Looking back, it’s been a good month for music.
I’ve given lots of hints on this blog and also in my that I really, really like this record. Now it is time to declare my full love for the mini album, ‘That Iron Taste’ is probably my favourite record of the year so far. Was one of my, and unfortunately failed to make it onto many other peoples lists. However, I was adamant that she was something very special and with the release of this EP, I would like to think that I was right.The record at only 7 tracks long, is a taster of Marika’s talents. Produced part by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J) and part by Johnny Flynn, she’s been in good hands in the making. The production is exquisite and shows how interesting you can make singer-songwriters sound if you put a bit of effort in. It seems like every single female singer-songwriter out there is compared to Laura Marling, and I am pleased to say that you can’t do that with Marika Hackman, her sound is her own.Opening track Bath is Black sets the tone for what is not a conventional record.
The unusual percussive sounds contrast wonderfully with Marika’s mellow voice. Mountain Spires and You Come Down have previously been released as a 7″ single, and these are the two tracks produced by Johnny Flynn and so naturally are more folky in there composition but still encompass that signature songwriting of Marika, both dark, dreary and quirky in it’s own way.Cannibal is the highlight of the record, it’s the best written song and least obscure sounding. If you hear any of this on the radio, it’s likely to be this song. I do have a secret love for Retina Television though, which was recorded completely using sounds of Marika’s voice and body. It sounds like nothing else you’ve ever heard and the beauty of the song adds a softness to the record, which in places has a industrial sounding edge.This is an interesting, exciting and daring record from such a young singer songwriter. It shows incredible natural creativity and talent and I am very intrigued to see what she will do next.‘That Iron Taste’ is released today on Dirty Hit, click here to download if from. Latest nokia 5230 software update.
Is without a doubt one of my favourite UK festivals. Every year the line-up is incredible and, how better to spend a weekend in May than running around beautiful Brighton seeing some of the best new music the world has to offer. Last year my highlights were Grimes, Palma Violets and Alabama Shakes, and judging by the line-up just announced for this year, 2013 could even top that!You can view the full line-up of, but here is a few of my highlights so farMerchandiseMarika HackmanUnknown Mortal OrchestraWolf AliceTom OdellPhosphorescentYou can purchase tickets, and they are only £45 for the weekend. See you there! In my Ones to Watch list last year, there are at least 5 acts on the list I would have described as folk.
This year, there is 1, this one,. So if you were after a list of acoustic guitars and fiddles, you better get your fix now.Since the ‘folk boom’ year of 2008, things have got a little less interesting in the genre, and now I think almost everyone is dire bored of banjo’s and people singing about grass and God. There have been several sub-genres, ‘folktornica’, ‘night folk, ‘doom folk’, anything to make it interesting again. When all we really need is someone to come along, who isn’t going out with someone in Mumford & Sons, who writes beautiful songs, and is still folk, but also, a breath of fresh air. And for me, that person is Marika Hackman.Her debut single You Come Down/Mountain Spines was produced by Johnny Flynn and released on Paradyse Records, an offshot of Transgressive. It’s a beautiful set of songs, layered with interesting instrumentation and rich melodies.
She has already announced the follow up to that single in the form of an EP which will be released on February 25th entitled ‘That Iron Taste’. The track ‘Cannibal’ which is below is taken from that EP, and what a lovely offering it is. The song shows yet another development in Marika’s sound, taking it to a darker and even more interesting place than the debut single.Her sound resonates with many artists from the 1960’s but it is still distinctively her own, and through working with Alt-J’s producer Charlie Andrew, I think the upcoming EP could be something pretty special.
Marika Hackman signalled her intention to abandon the nu-folk of her 2015 debut album with ‘Boyfriend’. The lead single from the Leonard Cohen-punning ‘I’m Not Your Man’, it opens with a hearty laugh before its shimmering guitars wrap around ’90s alt-rock hooks. There’s a similar directness to the track’s sardonic lyrics, with the animalistic metaphors of yore replaced with no-nonsense sexuality (“ He knows a woman needs a man to make her shout“).It’s a shameless stab at grungy indie-pop that’s continued on the girl group “sha-la-las” on ‘My Lover Cindy’ and ‘Eastbound Train’, while the infectious chorus on ‘Time’s Been Reckless’ is Hinds covering Nirvana.Tremendous fun, they warrant the London-based musician’s decision to employ as her backing band on a number of tracks. Yet if their influence is a little too transparent at times, the transition to a raucous sound is more nuanced than this suggests.‘Round We Go’ and ‘Cigarette’ sit at Warpaint’s hazy juncture of shoegaze, marking a continuum with her erstwhile dreamy, minimalistic compositions. Closing track ‘I’d Rather Be With Them’, meanwhile, could have been an outtake from debut LP ‘We Slept At Last’ if it wasn’t for the self-deprecating yet unapologetic assertion that she’s “so fucking heartless.”It’s a statement that this album roundly contradicts, being warm-hearted and emotionally liberated throughout. Support Loud And Quiet from £3 per month and we'll post you our next 9 magazinesAs all of us are constantly reminded, it’s getting harder for independent publishers to stay in business, which applies to Loud And Quiet more now than ever, 14 years after we first started printing a magazine that we’ve always given away for free.Having thought about the best way to support our running costs (the printing and distribution fees, the podcast and production costs etc.) we’d like to ask our readers who really enjoy what we do to subscribe to our next 9 issues over the next 12 months.
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