etcetc Records Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/etcetc-records/ New and independent music Mon, 23 Mar 2020 19:15:21 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://i0.wp.com/varioussmallflames.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/cropped-finalwhite-e1490809629909-1.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 etcetc Records Archives - Various Small Flames https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/tag/etcetc-records/ 32 32 88787050 San Mei – Cry https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/2020/03/23/san-mei-cry/ Mon, 23 Mar 2020 19:15:21 +0000 https://varioussmallflames.co.uk/?p=21653 San Mei is the recording moniker of Emily Hamilton, an Australian songwriter whose style was shaped at her family piano during childhood, not to mention her dad’s collection of records by The Beatles. Drawing on these classic pop sensibilities as well as a belief in the transportive power of music, the San Mei sound creates dream-laden soundscapes into which both the artist and listener can retreat, distinct worlds unshackled from the restraints of reality. This started with nothing more than […]

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]]> San Mei is the recording moniker of Emily Hamilton, an Australian songwriter whose style was shaped at her family piano during childhood, not to mention her dad’s collection of records by The Beatles. Drawing on these classic pop sensibilities as well as a belief in the transportive power of music, the San Mei sound creates dream-laden soundscapes into which both the artist and listener can retreat, distinct worlds unshackled from the restraints of reality.

This started with nothing more than a MIDI-keyboard and a Macbook, but still Hamilton’s early recordings won acclaim from some impressive places. Buoyed by the reception, she looked to other genres for further influences, taking inspiration from rock acts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Yeah Yeah Yeahs as well as the likes of Cat Power and Feist. Next, Hamilton met producer Oscar Dawson at BIGSOUND 2017, and the pair started a collaboration that developed this aesthetic further, taking the San Mei sound to new levels. “[Dawson and I] hit it off straight away and it seemed like he understood where I was coming from,” Hamilton explains, “even if I had trouble conveying certain ideas in the demos I made at home.”

The latest result of this partnership is Cry, a brand new four song EP to be released on etcetc Records. Settling into a confident dream pop style, the release finds San Mei at its most realised form, and the title track lead single is the perfect example. “I wrote ‘Cry’ when I realised it had gotten to the middle of the year already, and time was flying like crazy,” Hamilton says. “It made me think, I hadn’t really been paying attention to what was happening around me in the present, and only been thinking about the future, wishing time would hurry up so I could get to that next thing.”

The track balances pop immediacy with a wistful longing to bring this idea to life, the gauzy texture cut through by an insistent beat that demands forward motion. As such, the song is something of a slap in the face. A reminder to shake loose of the inertia that dwelling on the past can induce, and an example of the cathartic power of living in the moment. “I think when we’re young, we lament all the things we don’t have, or how we’re not where we want to be yet,” Hamilton continues. “We could actually end up wishing our time and youth away. This song is a reminder to myself to stop, breathe and appreciate this stage of my life and everything it has to offer.”

Cry is out now on etcetc Records and you can buy/stream it now.

 

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