interview with emmy the great for liverpool student media

As I'm directed through the labyrinth of corridors beneath the Stanley Theatre at the Liverpool University Guild, I came suddenly to a dressing room with the words 'Emmy the Great' scribbled on the door with a biro. Ushered in by the stage manager, I see Emmy slumped on a sofa, sipping from a cup of tea and scrolling endlessly through her Twitter feed. "Do you mind if I go for a wee?" she says, as I find myself a seat amongst the pile of clothes strewn across the sofa.

Where did the name ‘Emmy the Great’ originally stem from?
When I was at school, this boy would call my Emmy because he knew I hated it. And when I went to university I lived with him and for some reason I gave it to myself. We used to play gigs at university and we’d play under stupid names and so I was Emmy the Great.

Being from Hong Kong and having been brought up in England, what kind of effect has this had on the music that you want to produce?
When I first moved here I wanted to be accepted and I was very middle England about it. But now, since making these albums I’ve been very accepted by Hong Kong audiences as well- it’s like, you can’t run away from where you came from. It made me very Radio 4 when I first moved here but now I’m expanding a bit and I’m like- okay, I am Asian, a bit.

How big a part has the internet played in your success, for example blogging and social networking?
It definitely takes up a lot of my time. I’m literally on Twitter all day, but I leave it running on the side while I do constructive things.

Would you say it’s played a big part in raising your profile?
I don’t know, it definitely helps me get rid of brain gremlins! You know, when I’m writing a song and I get too intensely into it. And then I check my Twitter and come back and know what the rhyme should be because you’ve taken your brain away for a bit.

A lot of your lyrics refer to other artists- you reference Leonard Cohen in ‘First Love’ and Elton John in ‘Two Steps Forward’. Is there anything you find particularly inspiring about these artists?
I reckon that was before Twitter and I couldn’t get them out of my brain. I reckon now I could just tweet something about Elton John and then go back and write a song. There’s always all this stuff in my head; my head is a compendium of today’s magazine articles, I’m just like a real magpie.

Besides other artists, what else influences and inspires your musical vision?
Themes, I think. For the last album I was really into myths and femininity, and then I wrote a bunch of songs. The next album, I’ve got different ones.

What kind of song writing process do you go through? Do you actually sit down with the intention of writing or do things come to you when you’re in the middle of something else?
At the moment, I’m writing on tour and I’ll be walking around. Well, actually I went to Japan in July on holiday but with other bands. So, when I was waiting around for them to sound-check I would write a bunch of ideas down, write a bunch of melodies down, and then I didn’t think about them until this tour. When I’m walking to sound-check I’ll be quickly trying to write a verse, and that’s how I’m doing it at the moment.

How’re you finding Liverpool? Have you had a chance to look around the city and see any of the sites?
We know it quite well because we’ve been here a few times. I’m really good friends with Eugene McGuinness and so we went to Bold Street which is in one of his songs.

In terms of albums and touring, is there anything in the pipeline?
Our Christmas album is out in December, and next year I’m going to record my new album.

Earlier this year you released your second album ‘Virtue’, how does it differ from your previous album?
It was a very instant process because I broke up with someone, finished writing it, recorded it in a very short space of time. And then toured it quite quickly.

How did you manage to focus yourself so quickly on making an album?
Because you have no choice. I had no choice because I need to tour, I need to make albums otherwise I can’t eat. Well, I can eat but I’d be eating other people’s food.

If you had three words to describe ‘Virtue’ what would they be?
FML. Fuck my life.

you should take a little time, to readjust the fabrics of your mind

Originally published on Popped Culture.

Bromley based act Van Susans are relatively unheard of in the mainstream, this being the band’s first release to date. However, having recently filled London venues Indigo 2 and Clapham Grand, they’re oozing with enthusiasm, clear passion for music, and talent—lots of it.

At a first glance, one would be tempted to brand Van Susans as ‘just your average indie band’. And in some respects, they do very much adhere to this image with love as a predominant lyrical theme, married with the occasional Billie Joe Armstrong vocal twang imitation. But in another sense, they completely break the mould. Sat here, twiddling my thumbs, I can’t quite put my finger on it but there is something inexplicably likeable about Van Susans.

The lyrics to the EP’s lead track Cha Cha Bang appear to attempt to challenge the decidedly soppy, poetic lines found in most modern songs. Instead, the chorus reads: “And I’m thinking maybe she might be the one, But this girl she’s crazy, it’s like dancing with a gun, And I can’t find the safety, my legs refuse to run”. The presence of the “bang” in the song’s title and the “gun” metaphor repeated throughout the song creates almost a semantic field of unconventional love, something which is definitely present through the EP as a whole.

The second and third songs on the EP, Bones and Get Up, Get Out, really demonstrate the vocal talent of lead singer Olly Andrews. His unmistakable British accent is both relatable and personable, filling me with warmth during my first listen. Not only this, but he has a certain quality to his voice—it’s indie, yes. But powerful, nonetheless.

Plans is my favourite and the penultimate track on the EP, the intro featuring a short solo from violinist Caroline Atkinson. This unconventional choice of instrument is yet another reason why I’m gradually falling in love with Van Susans’ music. To marry a violin—an instrument predominantly associated with the classical genre—with drums, a guitar and a bass, gives their music a whole other dynamic, proving that they’re not simply ‘just an indie-rock band’ but musicians, craftsmen and real artists. Furthermore, despite Andrews’ initial Kate Nash inspired talk-singing during the beginning of the song, he goes on to deliver yet another commendable vocal.

If I were to be particularly pernickety, I would say that some of the songs sound very similar and at times the distinction between one song and the next is somewhat blurred. It’s apparent, however, that the band are certainly settled in their specific niche and have a clear fan-base who appreciate and love their music.

Van Susans were a surprising listen for me. Picking up the CD case and looking at the front cover, I was expecting to listen to another 5-piece rock band pretending to be Green Day. Instead, I was met with a collection of songs with soul, musicians with talent and lyrics with passion—simple things, but rare to find in many artists today.

but if you never try you'll never know just what you're worth

I've managed to tear myself away from my busy schedule of doing nothing to write a new post- shocking.

It's not that often that I'm prepared to go out on a limb, but I'm going to say that this cover of Fix You is better than the original. There, I said it. I've never really been a fan of Coldplay anyway but this version that Gabrielle Aplin performed for her BBC Introducing Maida Vale session really caught my attention.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, her voice has an amazing quality to it. A smooth tone, gentle but still powerful, nonetheless. She doesn't try to replicate anybody else or recreate the original song, she merely performs it as she wants to.

And it's not overcomplicated. Just a simple piano arrangement, accompanied by an acoustic guitar towards the end of the song. Nothing fancy, just a few chords married perfectly with her voice.

Gabrielle also performed her own songs, demonstrating her unique talent and ability to craft intimate, mature and revealing poetry to portray her stories.

To watch the full session click here.

i wanna be the only one to make it to the light

Originally published on Popped Culture

Just Drive is the latest single from Alistair Griffin, taken from his forthcoming album entitled Albion Sky.

The 33-year-old Middlesbrough born singer-songwriter found initial fame in the second series of the BBC reality show Fame Academy, a competition in which he eventually finished second place.

The song itself has all the basic components one would expect of a decent pop song—a simple, repetitive guitar riff, lyrics bursting with inspirationally profound metaphors and a powerful chorus oozing with raw emotion. But I can’t help but feel disappointed. There was no eventual climax and I felt left slightly hanging, waiting for the final punch.

To top it all off, the single’s cover features a fashionably dishevelled Griffin pictured in, what appears to be, a seemingly irrelevant post-apocalyptic wasteland—lovely.

In some respects, I think that this ‘instant pop song recipe’ that Griffin has opted for has given the song a very wooden and regimented feel. It’s catchy—don’t get me wrong—but it doesn’t grab me. Griffin was given 2 minutes and 45 seconds in which to impress me, but I’m actually left with very little understanding of the song itself and what it’s about.

Five years ago, I have absolutely no doubt that this song would have gained greater chart success. But the music industry is constantly evolving and artists such as Alistair Griffin are now competing with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Adele—in my opinion, he needs to ‘up his game’ in order to remain relevant and appealing to modern listeners.

Just Drive is Griffin’s first charting single in 6 years, though stumbling in at No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart. Although achieving a good chart position is definitely not the be-all and end-all of a song’s success, it’s definitely a good indicator as to the artist’s presence in the music industry. Alistair Griffin no doubt has a large fan-base, having had a top-ten hit with his 2003 single Bring It On and further success with You and Me the following year.

To give him credit, it’s refreshing to find an artist who isn’t best friends with their auto-tune feature. His voice has soul, depth, and it’s easy to see that he’s a passionate musician.

Alistair Griffin is a good vocalist, however I think his talents are wasted on this mediocre song, his voice being worthy of far better material.

You can find Alistair Griffin on MySpace, his Twitter page and his website.

she's elusive, i'm awake, you're finally real, there's nothing fake

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Since finishing exams, I have very quickly become a social recluse. Daily activities now include: not getting dressed, watching back-to-back Jeremy Kyle and, naturally, Friends box sets. In chronological order. Seriously.

With such a busy schedule, it's any wonder I have time to review anything anymore. I quickly googled this song last week when I came across it in an old episode of the Channel 4 series Goldplated from back in 2006. (You'll learn to realise that I find most music whilst watching TV).

I'm about five years late in discovering this song, so for future reference: expect all reviews to be written considerably after the song's release, as I am ridiculously slow!

So, I initially thought it was Damien Rice. In fact, it's a guy called Scott Matthews. He's pretty much unknown these days, but I love the anonymity of artists like him--he's judged entirely based on his music and not celebrity status, so to speak.

He's got a rough and almost rugged quality to his voice--the way it cracks in some of the higher notes just makes it all the more raw and honest. Vocally, it's far from perfect, but that's really what makes it perfect. (What a cliché).

Anyway, have a listen. You might hate it. Let me know.

You can find Scott Matthews on his website or perhaps MySpace.

(P.S. I'll very shortly begin writing for a new website called Popped Culture which I shall keep thee posted on).