“So, my producer says to me…” (this sounds like the beginning of a terrible corny joke, as in “A horse walks into a bar…”), except this is for real – so my producer says to me, “As the storm is still raging and the power keeps shutting down, why don’t you just record the beginning and the end bits while you can? After all, you’ll have the complete info about the music you’ve curated up at Life Elsewhere”. The rain was indeed teeming down, the thunder was banging around so loud it shook the windows of our studio every few minutes. And the lightning, dazzling as it was, the other-worldly strobe-like brilliance could cause apoplexy. It’s hurricane season here and every afternoon a storm barges in, and the power goes out. Our backup generator kicks in but my recording and editing programs don’t know that, so they both thumb their noses at me and demand to be rebooted. This can be as you may guess, bloody annoying. Hence the helpful suggestion from my producer and the reason why for this volume I will not be talking in between the cuts. Instead, you have all the details right here. First up, we head on over to Austin, TX where one Kendra Sells chooses to go by the moniker of Égaux Sells for the EP, All In Your Head. Égaux/Kendra explains that the name Égaux means e•go, noun & plural or equals as in quality, nature, or status. Kendra Sells appears in threes on the cover of her debut EP. the BluMoon front-woman wears many faces in the artwork, with self-portraits surrounding her photo and each sporting a different mood. You’ll find soulful harmonies and retro club beats to heavy metal guitars across these seven tracks, often within the same song. We selected Your Cut (Remix) ft. Maiko Saiko to prompt you to learn more about Égaux Sells. We love this! | Next up, this could get long and convoluted, so I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. Take a listen to Athletes Of God ft. Lady Blackbird with Don’t Wanna Be Normal (Wanna Be More Crooked) on London’s Foundation imprint. Here we have producer and arranger, Richard Barratt also known as Parrot AKA Crooked Man. Richard is noted for being one half of the duo Sweet Exorcist, alongside Cabaret Voltaire founder, Richard H. Kirk. On this brilliant three-track release, the Sheffield-based Barratt teams up with vocalist Lady Blackbird as Athletes Of God to give us three glorious downtempo versions of Randy Crawford’s Don’t Wanna Be Normal. You are advised to grab yourself a copy, relish in the retro charm and savor the well-formed song as comes up to the present day with its perfectly timed message. Scorcher! | Then, we take positive advice from Kieran and Emily AKA Driven Snow who say Wake Up With The Sunlight. Here is more proof that convincing indie-pop music is coming out of that hotbed of creativity that is the Emerald Isle. A big nod of the hat to Fifa Records who appear to have a gifted knack for spotting talent. | Rich Jacques’s debut EP, Everything Must Change caught my attention, especially the title cut. Based in Los Angeles, the singer-songwriter & producer has obviously spent a fair amount of time behind the mixing board. For some odd reason, I can hear this one slowed down even more, with the vocals pitched lower. | Over on the south coast of England, around the Brighton area, you may sometimes spot Nico of Shoredive Records roaming around taking photos of old buildings, graveyards, and other sites he finds interesting. This is of course when he is not running his excellent record label or blasting power chords from his guitar with Holy Clang. This three-piece is making a fine racket as you’ll hear on their EP astutely self-titled, EP. Slip N Slide gives us the full cacophony of Holy Clangs’s abilities. As this cut veers off in what could be uncharted waters, the lads hold its altogether without a chance of running aground. Bold! | The promo material that arrived with Keeley’s new mini-album says the following, “Dublin’s highly revered psychedelic dreampop quartet…”. No argument with that, except I will admit to being somewhat surprised by psychedelic dreampop. But enough of my finicky attitude about genres, I happen to think Keeley makes some fine, adventurous music and I’m always pleased to include another cut on the show. Traveling The Opposite Direction tells a tale, competently. | The last time I was in Rochester, NY I knew nothing of Great Klons. On my next visit to the further reaches of New York State, I’m gonna make sure to find out if Scott Klon, Justin Levy, Dan Vellucci, Courtney Hastings, and Kaly Clauss are performing someplace. Tremolo guitars, psychedelic violins, 808 folk-rock, and space-age beats are the descriptors they have chosen. I will add, that I like what Great Klons are doing after listening to their Forever Changes LP. Love the harmonies, violin, and production. Top marks! | Master violinist, Anita Clark is a favorite on the New Zealand music scene, for this LP, Cold + Liquid she goes by Motte. The album came about after Anita was suffering from vocal chord paralysis, leaving her with a culminating sense of frustration which could only be relesed through songwriting. The album’s early life was an instrumental, but as she prepared for the studio and searching for old voice memos to find vocal tracks, her voice returned. The result is beautiful as you’ll hear with Only I | Saint Clair is the recording alias of French-speaking North Londoner, Emma Topolski. The name comes from her mother’s Scottish ancestry in Sinclair Bay. Emma began as a jazz singer and session multi-instrumentalist, she has since shifted her focus onto her own songwriting & production as Saint Clair. Her EP, In The Violet Hour, is also a four-part visual EP about grief directed by Emma’s sister, shot in the family home after the loss of their father. Elegy In C is part 3. | Mailman is the alter-ego of producer and musician Lachlan Reynolds out of Melbourne, Australia. There is something I can’t quite describe about Love Affairs With Strangers that drew me in and I spent considerable time listening to the whole album, Rooms Of The Red Castle. The backing vocals from Peggy Hill work so charmingly well. | Sally Dige (Dee-Ah) is a multidisciplinary-audiovisual artist based in Berlin. Sally records and produces her own music and manages and creates every aspect of her creative work herself. Her aim is to keep her sound always evolving by experimenting with new ways of composing, producing, and playing music. You is one of those songs you have to listen to again and again ‘cause you’ll be sure to think you missed something. Excellent! | Ok, I’ll admit it, Noya Rao has my undivided attention. Their EP North is simply, fabulous. This quartet from Leeds is most definitely worthwhile searching out. Listen to Still and swoon. | “The Entangled Remix EP is a true love letter to fans of Dot Allison, harkening back to the danceable electronica sound of her early days in One Dove and breathing newfound energy into some of her most beautiful and thought-provoking songwriting of her career from Heart-Shaped Scars. It features an illustrious lineup of remixers including the late Lee Scratch Perry, Lomond Campbell, Anton Newcombe, The Anchoress, and Saint Etienne.” I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been a long-time fan of the Edinburgh native, this remix EP is wonderful. Dot says, “I titled this ‘Entangled Remix EP’ to tie with “Heart-Shaped Scars” but also in a way the slightly disparate influences on the EP spanning decades from when I was first influenced by dub music and did a remix for St. Etienne to Anton in Berlin and the Anchoress now.” I love all the cuts, so difficult to choose just one. The Anchoress Remix of Murder By Heartbreak is essential listening. | Also from Edinburgh hail, Letters From A Mouse who maintain they make “Bubbling analog synthesis from Scotland”. From the LP, An gàrradh I selected The Divide. A fitting way to end this sixty minutes of non-stop music.
Playlist
- Égaux Sells – Your Cut (remix) ft. Maiko Saiko
- Athletes Of God ft. Lady Blackbird) – Don’t Wanna Be Normal (Wanna Be More Crooked)
- Driven Snow – Sunlight
- Rich Jacques – Everything Must Change
- Holy Clang – Slip N Slide
- Keeley – Traveling The Opposite Direction
- Great Klons – Forever Changers
- Motte – Only I
- Saint Clair – Elegy In C
- Mailman – Love Affairs With Strangers
- Sally Dige – You
- Noya Rao – Still
- Dot Allison – Murder By Heartbreak (The Anchoress Remix)
- Letters From A Mouse – The Divide
Artwork by Angus Chase 1947 – 2021 “FGH #3″ acrylic on treated canvas 4’6″ x 4’8” Courtesy of Norman B’s collection
Life Elsewhere 