The first time I saw Anna Calvi was when she supported Johnny Flynn in late 2009. I didn’t get it, at all. It was a bit cabaret, a bit opera, and a bit weird. I don’t know if it was just my musical maturity growing in the time between that and hearing this album, or if her sound changed, but when this album was released at the beginning of the year, I completely fell in love with it.
The opening track ‘Rider to the Sea’, I complete guitar solo, perfectly sets the dark and moody tone of the album. There’s no denying Calvi’s voice and guitar playing but her songwriting ability is also pretty special. She is making music unlike other people. It’s catchy yet haunting, sinister yet beautiful. My favourite track ‘Love Won’t Be Leaving’ which its build-up and incredible guitar solo ends the album with something that only makes you wonder where she can go next after this incredible debut.
And if you don’t really get it, like I didn’t at first. Listen to this album, and you might too find a new passion for Anna Calvi.
Standout Tracks: Love Won’t Be Leaving, Desire and Rider to the Sea.
Catch the haunting sounds of one of the debuts of the year on the John Peel Stage.
Grouplove
The Park, Friday, 12:00-12:30
Such a perfect Glastonbury band in my opinion! Guaranteed to brighten your day and so good live, they could start your festival off in the best way possible!
Treetop Flyers
Other Stage, Saturday, 12:20-13:00
The winners of this years Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition are sure to take the Other Stage by storm!
Caitlin Rose
The Park, Friday, 14:15-15:00
Acoustic Stage, Sunday, 14:00-14:45
One of my favourite live acts around, she is wonderful, lots of spirit, humour and energy, plus a wonderful voice to boot. Do not miss.
James Vincent McMorrow
The Park, Sunday, 15:45-16:30
Completely blew me away at The Great Escape and someone I did an interview with a while back. Sure to warm Sunday afternoon.
Dry the River
John Peel, Saturday, 14:15-15:00
A stirringly brilliant live band. Delicate folk songs turn into storming rock numbers. Wonderful!
Ellen and the Escapades
The Park, Saturday, 11:00-11:30
Winners of last years Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition and one of my most blogged about bands. And also from Leeds! Go along, they are great!
Foster the People
John Peel, Sunday, 13:00-13:40
Super summery, Vampire Weekend-esque beats and excellent songwriting. Ones to watch for sure.
Jim Jones Revue
Oxylers in West, Friday, 17:00-17:40
New Rock n Roll at its finest. Must be seen live to be fully appreciated.
Emily and the Woods
Acoustic, Saturday, 16:00-16:45
Another Glastonbury Emerging Talent finalist, this gorgeous lady will make your Saturday afternoon a whole lot lovelier with her velvet voice and sweet songs.
Also catch… Summer Camp, Sea of Bees, Warpaint, Darwin Deez, Louise and the Pins, Esben and the Witch…
I have spent the last few days at Europe’s biggest festival for new music, The Great Escape in Brighton. Like Dot to Dot, Camden Crawl and Live at Leeds, it is a city festival and takes place at a number of venues across Brighton, each hosting an array of the best new music from around the world. Its a fantastic event, the range of music they have can satisfy anyone, from artists like Katy B, The Vaccines and Sufjan Stevens right across to relative unknowns like Rachel Sermanni, Braids and Foster the People. Heres a rather folky review of my time at the festival.
Thursday
The first band I went to see was Treetop Flyers, recently winners of the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition and a band who I have been blogging about quite a bit. They played in Beyond Retro, where I ended up going to see a lot of daytime gigs over the weekend. Despite the small crowd (Thursday is quiet anyway), they were great. A band who are guaranteed to continue making waves throughout the festival season, starting my festival season off in grand style. I then received a text from The Great Escape informing me of a secret Smoke Fairies gig on a Balcony across town. One top tip I would give to anyone considering going to the Great Escape festival in the future is to sign up to the text alerts, it costs £1.50 but its well worth it. Smoke Fairies are a great band, and although they were slightly drowned out by the sounds of the street, I was really glad I managed to catch one of their sets.
Back to Beyond Retro next for Cloud Control. Wonderful! And then again for another secret gig, an acoustic set by Cloud Control. I then walked to the very end of Brighton Pier to Horatios to see Big Deal. Their blend of folk, pop and lo-fi provided a very chilled out gig. Next up, Cloud Control (see below), for the third time in one day! After seeing them in Beyond Retro I completely fell in love, there acoustic set was brilliant too but it was the evening show at the Corn Exchange which stood out a mile. They completely suited the huge venue and there energy was infectious. So many catchy songs to match their incredibly unique MGMT means Jefferson Airplane sound. This is a band who could steal the whole summer for me.
I spent the next part of my evening in an tiny upstairs room of the Prince Albert watching Mechanical Bride and Dry the River (see below). The sound and lighting in the venue was terrible but both acts managed to power through that and put on wonderful shows. Mechanical Bride will soon be releasing her much awaited album and judging by her set, its going to be quite a treat. Despite blogging about Dry the River over a year ago, I had never seen them live. They completely exceeded my expectations. Their first EP is quiet and pretty, mixing Bon Iver and Mumford and Sons but live they completely stand there own folky ground, exploding in sound half way through almost every song. Ones to watch for sure. After a failed attempt to get into Warpaint, my first day at The Great Escape came to a wonderful end.
Friday
After very annoyingly managing to miss both Rachel Sermanni and Lucy Rose, my first band of the day was Kyla La Grange. I can’t quite make my mind up about this girl. I like her voice, its very Ellie Goulding, but her sound is more rocky. I love her song on The Flowerpot Sessions, a clear standout of the album, but I can’t quite make up my mind about her other material. I’ll get back to you on that one. I then headed for the beach for my favourite secret gig of the weekend, James Vincent McMorrow (see below) on the famous Brighton Donut Pier. I love his album, but live he completely blew that out of the water. His voice was flawless and with so much power. The songs ran over the gorgeous sounds of the ocean and seagulls. Truly stunning. Michael Kiwanuka next, who I love and he is great live too. A wonderful voice and excellent songwriting. He played only with a bass player which was nice, but I would love to see him with a full band.
Next I headed to the Florist for Bloggerati, a blogging event organised by The Recommender, which sounds super geeky but it was actually really nice. I managed to meet up with Breaking More Waves, Faded Glamour, There Goes the Fear and Live Life Love Music, nice to put a face to a web address.
The highlight of my Friday was the incredible Anna Calvi (see below) at Komedia. The last time I saw her was when she supported Johnny Flynn at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds and its fair to say I didn’t really get it. Since then she has released a stunning album, my favourite of the year so far and I have absolutely fallen in love with her. She was perfect, incredible guitar player and stunning voice. I think the whole audience was stunned to silence when she played the first note of ‘Rider to the Sea’. I then went to The Recommender after party at Audio. The sound was pretty bad but I saw Alpines who were great. They are gonna be big business soon so it was great to catch them in such a small room. Real Fur also played that night who were really good, great bass player.
Saturday
Dry the River started off my Saturday with a secret set at The Hub. After a couple of songs the PA system blew so they played an acoustic set on the edge of the stage, it was stunning and great to see them play so differently than at the Prince Albert. I then managed to catch about half of the last Lanterns on the Lake song as I got lost trying to find the Queens Hotel. I have since been informed that is was stunning so I am quite gutted about that one. Another secret set then, this time Guillemots in a car park. It was great, Fyfe’s voice is so powerful live, much better than on record.
The first band of my evening were Stealing Sheep at the Unitarian Church. I was excited to see a gig in the church but was very disappointed to find that the sound in the room was terrible. It really ruined the set for me which was such a shame as Stealing Sheep are such a great band and I would have loved to see them in another venue. I then went to see Daughter, I have fallen in love wither her EP and the songs translated well live too. She is very shy on stage which isn’t a bad thing, reminds me of the gigs from a very young Laura Marling. I then saw Olaf Arnolds (see below) in the Pavilion Theatre, which disappointingly wasn’t a very nice theatre but she was incredible. For a solo singer to stand on stage with a guitar and command the attention of the whole room the way she did is very rare. She played both a Johnny Cash cover and Bob Dylan cover as well as an array of her own Icelandic songs and got the audience, who were all sat on the floor, singing along an a couple of occasions. I would highly recommend catching her live if you can, stunning.
I then went to the Communion showcase room for Marcus Foster, as usual he was amazing, with a voice and stage presence like that, you can’t not be. He played a couple of tracks from the upcoming debut album which all sounded promising. A fine young talent. King Charles ended my evening with his unique brand of folk rock. He is someone who I have been waiting to make it big for a long time but he has never quite reached it yet. Everytime I have seen him though, he completely rams the room, mostly with girls in love with him, so it can’t be long before someone realises he is something special. A wonderfully energetic way to end my Great Escape Weekend.
Overall it was a great weekend, my standout highlights were Anna Calvi and Cloud Control, shortly followed by James Vincent McMorrow and Olaf Arnolds. The festival as a whole is great too, the location makes you feel like you are having a mini seaside holiday and the eccentricity of the streets of Brighton triples with the vibes of the festival. See you next year!
I am unfortunately not gonna be at Live at Leeds this year as I am on holiday but I still want to do a feature about it as I love the event and the line-up this year is as good as ever. Here is my top 10 bands to see at the festival.
1. Anna Calvi
Holy Trinity Church 10:00pm
I have to admit that even though I’m not gonna be their the prospect of Anna Calvi playing in a church makes me very excited. Headlining the Holy Trinity Church where I have seem Alessi’s Ark, Johnny Flynn and Blue Roses play before, this is undoubtedly one not to miss. But get their early, its not the biggest of venues and its guaranteed to fill up.
2. Marcus Foster
Holy Trinity Church 3:00pm
Also playing in the Holy Trinity, Marcus Foster’s set is guaranteed to be the hidden treat of the festival. After seeing him a few weeks ago at Hoxton Bar and Grill, I am positive he has some incredible things coming and I would catch him live in venues like this while you can.
3. Alpines
A Nation of Shopkeepers 6:00pm
Alpines describe their music as ‘Night Pop’ and have been causing blogging waves for a while now will play Nation of Shopkeepers at 6pm. There music is infectiously good and although they could be compared to Beach House, La Roux or Portishead, they are ultimately something quite unique and I predict massive things for them.
4. Slow Club
Leeds University Stylus 7:30pm
One thing thats guaranteed from a Slow Club show is that you are going to have a good time. Everything else is up in the air. Comedy, acoustic sets, Christmas songs, and collapsing equipment have all been present when I have seen them play in the past, but all in the best spirit. They are a brilliant band, really underrated.
5. Saint Saviour
O2 Academy- 4:00pm
Saint Saviour has a gorgeous voice, quirky songs and is altogether not getting the attention she deserves. She has previously sung with Groove Armada and her energetic performances caught a lot of attention, she has released solo EP ‘Anatomy’ and its properly stunning.
6. Lanterns on the Lake
Holy Trinity Church 5:00pm
Long, long ago Lanterns on the Lake were my New Treat after front woman Hazel sent me some of their music to listen to. They have since done incredibly well and are now signed to the beautiful Bella Union label. I predict an album is on the horizon and with a voice like velvet and sparse and interesting arrangements, its likely to be very good.
7. Cloud Control
Holy Trinity Church 4:00pm
Aussie folk-rock band Cloud Control make really interesting, incredibly summery music and in a church its going to sound beautiful. I haven’t written enough about this band but that really should change!
8. Sam Airey
Holy Trinity Church 2:00pm
Everyone from Leeds will know of Sam Airey, he seems to be everywhere, play everywhere and support everyone. He is also bloody brilliant and a real treasure of the city. He has played Live at Leeds every year for a few years now and its always a packed room, this year he has been boosted up to the Holy Trinity Church which will be stunning. Check out his EP ‘The Oak Tree’ too, stunning listen.
9. Kassidy
O2 Academy 6:30pm
With a sound not a million miles away from Treetop Flyers, Kassidy made 70’s infused folk rock with a catchy pop edge.
10. James Blake
O2 Academy 5:00pm
James Blake has wowed me with covers of Feist and Joni Mitchell and I’ve heard he is pretty good live too. With a crystal clear voice and music which which mixes dubstep with Bon Iver calmness, he has big things predicted for him.
Hope everyone who is going enjoys the day! It’s a brilliant event, so get yourselves tickets if you haven’t already! Click here to see the full schedule for the day.
Anna Calvi’s debut album is flawless. She is one hell of a talent and I think she is here to stay for a while. I am in love with the mixture of sounds, her voice and guitar playing alongside the quirky yet melodic songwriting. So brilliant. This is the last track from the album and its called ‘Love won’t be leaving’.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever written about this band, but a New Treat about them will be coming up. They are call Elephant and there is hardly anything about them on the web, but this is really great. You can download it from iTunes now.
I am a huge Nick Drake fan and after watching a documentary about him, I found out his mother also made rather nice music. This is ‘How Wild the Wind Blows’. It reminds me a lot of Sibyelle Baier who EVERYONE should check out if your not aware of her.
Emily and the Woods is WONDERFUL. She is releasing a new EP and the launch is on May 4th, supported by Samuel Brookes and some special secret guests. This song is going to be on her new EP and its called ‘I Can’t’. It’s extremely lovely!
I have been listening to loads and loads of Jeff Buckley recently (and by that I mean definite obsession). I think posting a Jeff Buckley song would definitely be cheating on the whole ‘new music’ thing, so this is a cover by Holly Miranda of ‘Lover, You Should’ve come on Over’ which is my favourite Jeff song.
This is Rachel Sermanni singing with Admiral Fallow and it is STUNNING. So wonderful, her voice is like heaven and they work really well together.
After all the end of year lists, the next thing we have to look at is who is going to be big in the forthcoming year. Jessie J is the name on everyones lips, Claire Maguire, James Blake, The Vaccines and Jamie Woon have also been short listed in the BBC Sound of 2011. I am going to give you a preview of somethings I think will go big. Some of these bands might hit the mainstream but as this blog is about folk music, this is also about some of the bands who I think will gain more recognition in the folk and alternative scenes. Hopefully you will find something new to love and hopefully something a little different.
Saint Saviour
Women have done extremely well in music the last few years. Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Adele, Marina and the Diamonds, the list of hotly tipped acts from the last few years has been dominated by women and this year is no exception. However, this unfortunately means that some incredibly talented people can get forgotten among the haze of strong female popstars. I think this is what has happened to Saint Saviour. She has sang for Groove Armada in the past but as a solo artist is still unsigned. As she is unsigned I doubt their is an album on its way but their is certainly enough material on youtube for it. Her songs are beautiful, she has a very unusual delicate voice and it is also very adaptable. Some of her songs, like single Woman Scored (available to download on iTunes), are upbeat and dancey and others like Fallen Trees are sombre and utterly stunning. I hope 2011 is her year, she is supporting Hurts on their tour so maybe that could be the start of something.
God knows how much I go on and on about Summer Camp but they have been so incredibly forgotten on all the ones to watch lists, it has made me very disappointed. So anyway, they are on mine, because I think they are fantastic! Effortless vocals, dreamy melodies and brilliant energy. Their Young EP has been very critically acclaimed and they are due to release an album this year. I have high hopes for them, such a unique sound yet one which could be liked by lots of people.
The Vaccines have created the biggest hype for an indie band in years. The group is lead by Justin Young, aka Jay Jay Pistolet. But its quite a different direction to the Jay Jay who supported Laura Marling in 2008. This is pumped up indie pop with catchy rhythms and barely a song over 3 minutes. The album is finished and I think it will do very very well indeed. I predict packed out tents at Reading and Leeds and singles which will become soundtracks to the summer.
Listen to: If you Wanna, Wreckin’ Bar, Post Break-up Sex
James Blake
Here is someone who, like the Vaccines, has been very very hotly tipped for 2011. His music is very unusual, Bon Iver meets dubstep, but it is also utterly fascinating and I find it really weird that he has been picked up by the mainstream considering his music doesn’t fit there that well. I hope he creates an incredible album, based on his EP’s he’s bound to. Like this young man a lot.
Surf Rock has had a big comeback this year. Best Coast, Surfer Blood, Real Estate, Veronica Falls and the list goes on. I think Tennis might do it this year. Its surf rock but its very pop too. Its happy and summery and people love that. Their current singe Marathon has summer hit written all over it and with an album due this January maybe they will have some other pleasant surprises up their sleeves.
I have been a fan of Esben and the Witch for a while now. They were my new treat around a year ago now and I was completely blown away when I saw them live in May at Live at Leeds. A really stunning band fronted by an incredible band. Their album is set to be released this year and is rumoured to be rather good. This is darkness at its very best.
Listen to: Marching Song, Lucia, at the Precipice, About this Peninsula
Anna Calvi
I saw Anna Calvi supporting Johnny Flynn at the Brudenell Social Club which I think was in 2009. She is very weird, quite a strange sound mixed with her voice. It’s taken a while for me to warm to her but I think she’s something special and I will be really interested to see the type of album she brings out.
Now signed to Transgressive Records, Mechanical Brides long awaited album is to be released this year and rumours are that its very good. She also does a stunning cover of Rihanna’s Umberella which is to appear on the album.
