New Music 2016 - Part 7 - Aurora - All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend

Well, now that I'm thinking about festivals in 2016, this memory from Green Man 2015 is worth all the rain and more.
I wandered away from the Mountain stage during a lull in proceedings and took this image of folk making the best of a soggy day whilst on my way...

When you see something live, that you are previously at best only slightly aware of, and it wildly exceeds all expectations you don't need to do anything except be there; you can't do anything about it because it just happens. This was one such occasion for me.

Aurora, Walled Garden stage, Green Man Festival, 23 August 2015.

Running With The Wolves EP started the ball rolling and the title track is on the forthcoming LP. Aurora Aksnes is quite something to behold live.

All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend (Decca-UMO, 11 March 2016).

She is also good for a cover song from time to time, and I'm not talking Oasis and the John Lewis Christmas 2015 one here, although that certainly garnered much publicity and attention for her. This, although she could not have known it at the time of performance in June 2015, is now far more topical. It is not much short of acapella.

Is There Life on Mars?

My Music in 2015 - EPs and mini-albums - Part 1

Not wishing to get into a debate about what is or is not an EP this category is something of a cop-out. That does however leave an open question concerning quite when does a mini-album become a full-blown LP. In so far as is possible I use the distinction that the artist chooses and if that is indiscernible then I make the decision myself.
In the new order this is however one of the most interesting places in which to dwell: just ten years ago who could have foreseen that the then moribund concept of the EP would find a whole new meaning - whether that be digital only, on CD, vinyl or now increasingly so also cassette. The list is, as usual, alphabetical by artist:

• Aurora - Running With The Wolves
• Clara Engel - A Little Slander, A Little Lace
• Francis Pugh and The Whisky Drinkers - A Place Back West
• The Japanese House - Pools To Bathe In
• Joni Fuller - Letters From The West Coast
• Sound Of The Sirens - All We Have Is Love

It's a mix of things that have grabbed my attention. In this case I have only seen two of these acts live  - the first and the last. This is the first.

Aurora - Walled Garden stage - Green Man Festival -  23 August 2015.

This was long before the John Lewis Christmas advertisement in which Aurora Aksnes' cover of Oasis' 'Half The World Away' happened. That has certainly bought her a great deal of attention. Her own music deserves more than that.

Clara Engel is a Canadian that is criminally ignored by most. That is a great shame and not least for the would-be listeners. Her music maybe somewhat challenging but it repays the effort many times over and, while the above EP is short, there is a sizeable body of work to discover. Do it.

Francis Pugh and The Whiskey Singers I pretty much summed up in my post back in September. This, for the purists, is a true EP. Three tracks - the first and last are their own with a cover of Hank Williams' 'I Saw The Light' sandwiched between them. Another stalwart of the Oxford roots music scene is likely to feature in part 2 of this thread.

Sound Of The Sirens. a duo from Exeter, has had quite some year. Here they are playing The Lights, Andover back in March.

That was before Chris Evans, presenter of the BBC Radio2 Breakfast Show, was revealed as a fan. One thing led to another and ultimately the duo of Abbe Martin and Hannah Woods played live at the relaunch of his classic late 1990's Channel 4 show TFI Friday.

The Blog Sound of 2016 - long-list

This has been run since 2012 as a companion to the BBC Sound Of 2016. It takes a different perspective on seeking the same sort of information and sentiment. Rather than explain the background to this I shall refer you to enabler-in-chief Robin Seamer of Breaking More Waves.
I have had the pleasure to participate in this poll once again and the long-list of fifteen acts was revealed (in alphabetical order) today. I am not allowed to reveal my nominations and I'm not even going to say if any of the three featured in the list. The publisher included a one-sentence resumé of each and so I felt it was incumbent on me to offer a slightly different perspective:

• Aquilo
• Aurora
• Billie Marten
• George Cosby
• Haelos
• Liss 
• Loyle Carner
• Mabel
• Mura Masa
• Mt. Wolf
• Nao
• Pleasure Beach
• The Big Moon
• The Japanese House
• Yak

I have attempted to provide links, as diverse a list as suited my inquisitiveness, to the artists. I hope that you will find that useful and I also recommend that you might like to try some of the other blogs that contributed their votes to make this list a reality. There is a complete list of them here.
The Top-5 Blog Sound of 2016 acts will be be published on 5 January 2016.

New Music 2015 - Part 78 - Aurora Aksnes - Running With The Wolves EP

This seems to have been one of the biggest 'stories' in a whole slew of UK newspapers for a couple of days. Yes, I am going to comment on it.
Whatever you think about pre-Christmas hubbub or the much-commented-upon John Lewis Christmas TV advertisement that isn't an issue for me. John Lewis Partnership, a UK chain of department stores, has a history of choosing an artist to cover a well known hit song as a sound-line to their annual campaign. The song and the artist chosen are often surprising juxtapositions. In 2012 it was Gabrielle Aplin covering Frankie Goes To Hollywood and the track 'The Power Of Love'.

That the press seems to think that the singer Aurora Aksnes, chosen to cover Oasis' 'Half The World Away' on it, is unknown is quite the issue for me. Where have all you supposed music sleuths been?

She released the 'Running With The Wolves EP' in May this year (Decca, Universal Music Group --- so hardly an underground release) and she certainly hasn't spent the time since then hiding in a cave somewhere in her native Norway.

Aurora, Walled Garden Stage, Green Man Festival, Sunday 23 August 2015.

I guess you just had to be there to realise that something beyond the usual was going on. Always keep your eyes and ears open, and not just for the music alone...
Don't worry about Oasis (they'll love hating the cover and blaming each other all over again), or indeed this saccharine version designed to serve a single purpose. I don't blame Aurora for taking this opportunity to gain exposure without having to allow any of her own music to be compromised by its use in the advertisement.
Her brand of Scandinavian electro-pop might have been a bit too dark for the target market anyway...  This is the title track.

Unless that is you fancy spending Christmas dancing in a deserted quarry backed by a mysterious metropolis.

The four-track EP is far better than the song covered. Aurora's début LP is due for release in early Spring 2016.

Music I Want in 2009 - Part 9 - New European

I'm pondering strategies for a wet weekend at Latitude 2009 but the issues involved are not devolved; the weather is no less my responsibility than it is that of the event organisers and neither of us can blame the other for it. They have contingency plans too and so, even if not ideal, I think it will probably work out OK... Rather than say which acts I'm hoping to see, though I have mentioned a few already, I thought I'd tell you of a few that I won't be seeing because, in so far as I know, they are not playing. It is not criticism, rather curiosity, that got the better of me...

Ray Rumours is the semi-solo project of Ros Murray (Electrelane) and it sounds nothing like their electronic output and this is the second album released under this moniker.
Recorded in St. Martin l'Ardèche, in the autumn and winter of 2007-2008, it is entirely acoustic. It is released on CD by StitchStitch (March 2009) and it available either direct from either of these links or from some independent record stores.

More Scandinavian surprise, this time in the form of ambient folk-electronica from Sweden, comes in the form of the début album 'Aurora'.

The Deer Tracks (2009) - Aurora

And here is another recent release...

Lau are battling with Bellowhead, in press reviews and more, for the crown of best folk-inspired band of 2009 and it is quite obviously a discussion to be had over a couple of pints in the pub(s) of your choice (The Bourne Valley and The Griffin would be mine) but beyond that it means little except to say that we are currently spoiled by such talent and long may it remain so.