Driftwood, the Bremfields interview.

Driftwood is an exciting artist from Australia who's brand new single, 'Bremfields', is quite rightly attracting a lot of attention.

We had to find out more, and asked:

How long have you been making music?

Driftwood: “I’ve been making music in some capacity or another since I was a kid. My dad first gave me an old acoustic guitar when I was eleven and taught me to play a few Bob Dylan tunes. I would mess around and write my own songs when I was in boarding school. At the age of thirteen I was sent to boarding school in California, so I was exposed to all kinds of music in those early years, from
netal, reggae and rock to hip hop. Years later I studied an Electronic Music Diploma and Bachelor of Audio Engineering at SAE.” (Australia’s leading creative media institute)

What’s been some of the highlights so far on your musical journey?

“I’m not sure about highlights, as far as accolades go...

I was previously signed to Universal Music Australia, and I’ve been in studios writing with some huge international and local artist, in addition to being previously managed by one of the biggest writing managers in Australia.

I suppose that sounds really cool, but honestly for me, the personal highlight would be my more recent music and videos I’ve released and produced under Driftwood.

The nuance and overall creative aesthetic have been crafted with particular care.

I had a vision to be a multi-disciplined storyteller and I’ve always loved artists that could express
themselves across several paradigms. My skill set as a Singer songwriter / Producer / Director / Editor
came through organic grown and work as an artist. I was studying my audio engineering degree while
working part time shooting directing/editing real estate videos on the side for money.

I always had a very clear creative vision, so I was adamant that I had to be one to direct and edit my
own video clips as well. At the end of the day, I thought ‘I have to build it exactly as I see it.’

New single, ’Bremfield’ - Is there a meaning behind the song?

“It was interesting because this track was initially a freestyle that sat in my hard drive. I then came
back to it years later and thought I should try and build on the production,

This single is about breaking the fourth wall. It’s about the idea that there could be subterranean
energies and other factors operating within other paradigms of consciousness. It’s about feeling like
I’m trapped within this paradigm, and I don’t belong here.

The one thing I love about art is I have a license to explore ideas …no matter how crazy they may
seem. It is fascinating to me that whole genres of music can reside within the confines of three concepts and identities.”

What albums do you never get tired of listening to?

“Hard to say as I listen to a lot of esoteric music, and in honesty, I don’t really listen to albums all the
way through anymore on a regular basis. The art of creating a timeless album is dying so it’s an
interesting question. Here are some more well-known albums that are timeless to me. But this isn’t a
reflection of what I would listen to on a regular basis.”

Bob Marley - Best of
Sam Cooke - Greatest Hits
Kanye - Watch the Throne
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
Adele - 21
Kanye - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Dark Twisted Fantasy
The Weeknd - House of Balloons
Nas - Illmatic
Skepta - Konnichiwa
Drake - Nothing was the same
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Bon Iver - For Emma, For Ever Ago

What can we expect from you this year?

“I’m keen to share a lot of new work in 2022! I’ll be heading overseas to work on music and I’m also
excited to play live.”

The single: ‘Bremfield’ by Driftwood

Blonde Diamond: 'Red Flags', dark sides...

“We’re really excited to dust off the pandemic cobwebs and really hit the new year in a big way.” (Blonde Diamond)

Today we speak to Alexis Young (lead vocalist) from Blonde Diamond who have released 'Red Flags', a sparkly, tuneful earworm of a track about the darker side of relationships.

We asked Alexis some pressing (!) questions:

Image by bwfletcher

Let’s start at the beginning, how long have you been making music?

“We’ve all been creating music in various forms since we were young, but Blonde Diamond (which started as Youngblood) begin in 2015 with myself, Alexis, writing demos.

When it came time to translate the songs to stage, I was lucky enough to convince my best friends to add their own spin to it and we’ve been together since.”

What’s been some of the highlights, so far, on your musical journey?

“We stayed at a punk squat in Hamburg, walked the red carpet (twice!) at the Junos and had a 42 hour flight to India to play their version of Coachella - to name just a few. We feel really fortunate that this project has taken us around the world, and that we’ve met some really incredible people along the way.”

Tell us more about the single. Is there a meaning or story behind the song?

“The initial inception of ‘Red Flags’ was a way for me to process an abusive relationship that I had just escaped from. It was cathartic for me to write, but I also really wanted to have it be a sort of anthem to give others the courage to walk away from toxic situations.”

What albums do you never get tired of listening to?

“I’m a big fan of the French band Air and I pretty much rotate their whole catalogue all the time. The Strokes - Is This It, The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium, and Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot it in People are classic go-to’s as well because they were the teenage staples. I think nostalgia makes it so you’ll never tire of listening to them.”

What can we expect from you in the near future?

“We’ve got a big year planned for 2022! A handful of singles will be released in the Spring, followed by our debut full-length album! We’re really excited to dust off the pandemic cobwebs and really hit the new year in a big way.”

 

Taken from the debut album expected mid 2022, Red Flags is out now. Stream/Download: https://ffm.to/blondediamondredflags

http://www.blondediamondmusic.com/

Interview by Kelly Munro

LOW ISLAND 'If You Could Have It All Again'

Album review by Alan Neilson

What is interesting about my feelings towards Low Island, is that for each of their earlier single releases I was asked to review the songs, but never felt enough love for them until now, when I listened to the album in full.

Copy of Copy of Low Island Ground (16x9).jpeg

And then it was ‘Hey Man’ the opening song on ‘If You Could Have It All Again’ that opened the door for me; it’s strange how indifference can turn to love by seeing something from a slightly different angle.

I think my initial reticence came from the band’s image and a feeling that this is just another group of young, white men from Oxford, who are not too dissimilar to that other band of white men from Oxford; with their falsettos, angular synths and raw, but tasteful guitars.

There is a whole, wider argument about representation in the music business, which I won’t go into here, but suffice to say my heart dies a little everyday when I keep getting asked to review another all male, all white band. Thankfully Low Island are doing something that is interesting enough that my prejudices have been put to one side.

I can’t think of another album where the first track is so different from the songs that follow. Thankfully that track ‘Hey man’ is of such originality and quality, it drew me into the music of Low Island, and although the songs that come after may not have been enough on their own to make me love their debut album at first, I listened to it through the experience of that opening track. It really is mesmerising, containing as it does a repeating note like Laurie Anderson’s ‘O Superman’ and frantic drums like late period Radiohead.

‘Hey man’ starts out sounding like Aqualung until the jagged drum rolls and single percussive hits crack open the sensitive shell of the song and reveal real gold. But just when you think it is going to start in an Elbow driving rhythmic style, the song ends and the temporary silence is followed by the pumping ‘What Do You Stand For’, which could not be more different, sounding as it does like a club track meeting Art Brut head on, with its markedly different vocal spoken/sung style against a pumping backbeat. Wickedly sharp lyrics and truly danceable beats show immediately the band are not a one trick pony.

‘Don’t Let the Light’ follows and again is like neither of the previous tracks, it has a foot in clubland, but a softer vocal and trance like vibe pulls it into a pop arena. The album‘s lack of a defining genre makes it almost lack a cohesiveness, but at the same time keeps the listener’s attention, even if it is just based on a feeling of what the hell are they gonna do next… and that next thing is a reprise of the previous track in ballad form; a prize for anyone who guessed that.

‘In Your Arms’ follows and features a stunning chord progression against another trance like groove, but this time with stunning ethereal backing vocals, complimenting the lead voice. The danceable rhythms and spiky synths continue through the next tracks, but there is a real humanity to the songs. The performances and production is practically perfect so you would be forgiven for believing this is all the work of robots, auto-tune and computer chips, but there is a beautiful soul to this music that reminds me of the stunning Broken Bells’ second album. Humans and machines can work together and Low Island balance the organic with the electronic exquisitely.

The album reminds me of when clubs had separate rooms for different music genres (do they still do that?). Each song has a different vibe to it and even on ‘Momentary’, which feels like the chill out room as the tempo drops and the voice softens, but then you hear drums coming through the wall, calling you back into the club. And then you are back in the dark sticky room, ‘Spaces Closing In’ eases you back in with its mid-paced tempo and rockier sound.

The final track ‘What the Hell (Are You Gonna Do Now?)’ again is in a different room, more withdrawn and indie and the spoken section at the end could almost be a conversation in the toilet before you walk home alone at the end of night, even down to the way the sentence is cut off before it finishes. The song does kind of close the album in an understated way rather than a blast of energy, but that is part of the album’s charm, providing unexpected turns and endings, jumping between genres, one moment gentle, the next forceful and brash.

Of course genre hopping is a double edged sword, particularly within the same album. I happen to love a contrast of styles by the same artist, but there are others who like a certain sound and want a band to be something tangible and remain constant, at least for eleven songs.

I understand Low Island are self-releasing ‘If You Could Have It All Again’ and that kind of tells a story of how a record label could not pigeonhole the band for the marketplace (or of course the band refused to be pigeonholed). But I do wonder if Low Island know who their target audience is: indie kids, club heads, or an older audience who recognise the artistry and references in the songs? This album could appeal to that whole cross section, but equally could end up alienating them all as well. I mean, what is Low Island?

The band asks the question in a roundabout way in their song, ‘What Do You Stand For’ and as John Mellencamp said, in the music industry as in life, “You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.” In some ways Low Island are standing for something simply by being themselves, with all their contradictions, mistakes and conflicts, but still there is a slight loss in clarity in the signals they give out… in today’s music industry the package is more important than the contents, especially without a major label’s marketing budget. I only hope Low Island will reach glorious heights.

Released April 2021, the album is available now via the band’s own Emotional Interference imprint, through their official outlet:

1.Hey man
2. What Do You Stand For
3. Don't Let The Light In
4. Don't Let The Light In (Reprise)
5. In Your Arms
6. Who's Having The Greatest Time?
7. Feel Young Again
8. I Do It For You
9. Momentary
10. Spaces Closing In
11. What The Hell (are you gonna do now?)

Low Island - If You Could Have It All Again Artwork (Cover).jpeg