“[The song] feels like several songs coalescing into one, a magic formula emerging by chance from a radio set between stations…post-rock thump, dream pop drone and indie rock vocals shrouded in gauzy ambience… the various elements complementing one another to build into a squally climax”

With such a diverse and varied sound, we thought it would be interesting to find out who the band consider inspirations, and asked them to choose ten influential songs that have in one way or another shaped their sound or just seemed important through their lives.

Ten Songs

from Hiva Oa

Although a lot of fun, this was a near impossible task to whittle a list of what could have been hundreds of songs to a list of just 10. I guess the artists are just as influential as the tracks chosen, and I could have easily plucked 10 different tracks from each of the artists. None the less, here we go.

While collating this list, the one recurring theme from each track chosen was not just the initial impact of the track when I first heard it (often from my youth), but also how these have stuck with me for a number of years and songs that I continue to return to.

1. Ces gens-la – Jacques Brel

I guess it would make sense to start with the man who inspired our choice of band name. There are a number of tracks I could have gone with, but Ces gens-la is a notable gateway to his music. The real power of this track comes in the form of the live visual performance. No understanding of the French language required. His animation is self-explanatory.

2. Avalanche – Leonard Cohen

There is much of his discography that I am yet to discover, on purpose, but Songs of Love and Hate was a staple listen in my youth and still to this day. The desire to do cover versions doesn’t occupy my mind much, however, I have flirted with the idea of doing a cover of this for quite a while now. Maybe I will convince the rest at some point…..

3. Roads – Portishead

Portishead were the first ever band I saw live. I was 12 and couldn’t possibly appreciate the situation I was in (I have my older sister to thank for that), but it still remains one of the best gigs I ever saw. Again, it was hard to narrow down to one Portishead track. Roads….why not!

4. Love me or leave me – Nina Simone

Again, difficult to narrow to one track for Nina, but the musicianship in this track just blew me away the first time I heard it and continues to this day, particularly the contrast of the piano solo and accompaniment. No better example of the classically trained beast trying to burst through the jazz/blues surroundings she feels caged within.

5. Factories – Damien Dempsey

I would love to see the day where Damien is as well revered around the world as he is in Ireland, but I fear it will never be so. Brutal honesty in a disillusioned modern age. As much as I tried, Irish traditional music was something that I just couldn’t warm to. Damien bridged that gap perfectly. I guess I just needed a hero for my generation.

6. I Only Said – My Bloody Valentine

Throughout this list, it could be said that it is singers that are the focal point which first inspired me. Being a singer myself, it is always the aspect I get drawn to initially. Hearing this track for the first time however…..There is just something special about the melody and its delivery. Intoxicating.

7. Lullaby for Hamza – Robert Wyatt

Robert Wyatt is the blend of the above statement. A great unique voice, but with the same strange intoxicating delivery. This was the first Robert Wyatt track I ever heard and continues to be an album I return to. Recently, Daithi and I were having a conversation about Wyatt and Christine piped up to say she never heard of him. The following question being ‘what does he sound like?’……For passers by listening in, they would be forgiven for thinking that two strange animals had escaped from a zoo. You’re trying it now aren’t you…..

8. Clap Hands – Tom Waits

I was first turned on to Tom Waits while in my mid teens and was given his debut album Closing Time by a friend. I loved it but didn’t delve into his discography any further for some time. Imagine my surprise when the next album I heard was Rain Dogs a decade later. This is the opening track and is, again, an album I return to constantly.

9. Song to the Siren – Tim Buckley

I was difficult not to choose his son, but since we are just talking about individual songs here, I thought I would go with this. Something very special indeed.

10. Rez – Underworld

To close things off, I wanted to step away singers. This was the first electronic track that widened my scope of the limitless beauty of electronic music and again, served as the perfect gateway. Such a shame it only lasts for 10 minutes.

Hiva Oa’s new EP, mk II (part 1) is set for release on the 16th September and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.

The post Ten Songs from Hiva Oa appeared first on Various Small Flames.

The track is a moody and atmospheric slice of alternative rock, supported by Brill’s excellent baritone vocals. Influences include The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, and contains some so-called “menacing viola vibes” from Smoke Fairies collaborator Neil Walsh. Inspired by his recent diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, the song’s gloomy nature veils a sense of determination and resolve. The finale could even be described as triumphant.

‘Muscle and Bone’ will appear on Brill’s forthcoming Pieces EP. If you can’t wait for that release, head to Notting Hill Arts Club on the 1st of June, where Brill and his band will make their live debut as part of Communion Presents.

The post John Joseph Brill – Muscle and Bone appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Huck Notari

Earlier this year Portland’s Huck Notari completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for his third album, Huck Notari and the River. Now released, the LP does not disappoint with Notari’s trademark wistful strumming and stirring lyrics. If you are new to the artist, check out ’Wall Around Your Heart’, one of my favourite songs.

Tiny Ruins

Haunts is the latest EP from Auckland’s Hollie Fullbrook, AKA Tiny Ruins. This is organic music, with simpe instrumentation supporting the main attraction – Fullbrook’s incredible vocals. It feels like she is singing in an empty room for you alone, her voice filling the space and bringing to life the tales she is telling.

Old Haunt

An offshoot of The Gertrudes, Old Haunt is a haunting blend of traditional folk and more experimental genres like electronic and drone. Herohill’s write-up states that front man Lucas Huang described the project as ‘Tim Hecker unearthing a box of Townes van Zandt demos’, which makes us very excited for the full album coming this November.

<a href=“http://oldhaunt.bandcamp.com/track/ghost-town” data-mce-href=“http://oldhaunt.bandcamp.com/track/ghost-town”>Ghost Town by Old Haunt</a>

Jason Isbell

Southeasten, the new album from the former Drive-By Truckers man, is an exceptional collection of songs. Listen to a few of them here thanks to Garden and Gun (kudos to Songsfortheday for the find).

Suntrapp

The press release accompanying the first single by Newcastle’s Suntrapp states that it intends to capture the human conditions, being ’impulsive, celebratory and cathartic in equal measure’. I think this is a perfect summation of what indie-folk-rock (or whatever) should be all about.

Glass Cake

Glass Cake aren’t particularly folky but the idea behind this series was to let us post about more good music, not constrict ourselves with rules. Lunar Caustic is like a Sharon van Etten x Twin Sister x Scout Niblett hybrid playing a raucous garage rock. It’s great.

Ben De La Cour

Ben De La Cour is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. He has recently released his third album, Ghost Light, a really nice collection of acoustic folk songs and some country rockers. I’ve seen comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Townes van Zandt and I think these are fair. He certainly has the pedigree to be considered an oldtime-style wandering man, having travelled the world as an amateur boxer, a bartender, a janitor and farm worker. You can download the album for however much you like over at Ben’s bandcamp page.

Wes Tirey

We have featured Wes a few times recently, with a review of his EP I Stood Among Trees, and last week’s interview about his music and writing, and he has a new 3-song EP out now. False Idols is another collection of superbly written earthy songs from some old vision of America and is available for as little as $1. All funds will go towards Wes’ Indiegogo campaign to get him to Italy.

We’ll be seeing you next month.

The post Feet On The Ground: Vol. 2 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

I listen to (and write about) quite a lot of what I would describe as folk music and I got to thinking that maybe I could put together a second volume of ‘Lost And Found’ which covered artists that could fit into the category of folk and roots music. Here’s where I enter a disclaimer: I am not an expert in this area, more an interested amateur. This collection of songs does not reflect a definitive collection of any one genre or historical period of music. Instead I have chosen a collection of old songs that I feel have huge influences on the folk music that followed, from Dylan and Cohen to the host of new artists we have covered here at Wake The Deaf.

It features country and bluegrass, gospel and Appalachian mountain music. There’s something here for everyone, from Roscoe Holcomb’s easygoing rambling song ‘Roll On Buddy’ to ‘Down In The Willow Garden’, a murder ballad by Texas Hadden and her brother Hobart Smith. ‘Shine On Me’ is an impassioned and foot-stomping chorus by Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers, while ‘I Wish My Baby Was Born’ by Dillard Chandler is as sorrowful an a cappella recording as you’re ever likely to hear. ‘I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow’ by The Old Regular Baptists is perhaps my favourite track of all. It’s an incredibly intense congregational hymnody from deep within Appalachian coal mining country. The song has an insistent, almost ominous, drive and continues to build in burning fervour. Mumford and Sons this ain’t.

I urge you to give this mix a listen. I’ve really enjoyed putting it together and constantly found myself amazed at the quality of the songs, some of which were written well over a hundred years ago (although some were recorded much later). If you’re a fan of modern folk music, of the legends of the sixties revival, of the Coen’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, or even works of Southern Gothic literature by authors such as Faulkner and O’Connor, I’m willing to bet you’ll like this mixtape.

TRACKLIST:

1. Roll On Buddy – Roscoe Holcomb
2. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting – Rev. J.M. Gates
3. I’ll Be Washed – The Carolina Tar Heels
4. East Virgina – Buell Kazee
5. I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground – Bascom Lamar Lunsford
6. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
7.  In The Shadow Of Clinch Mountain – The Carter Family
8. Big Eyed Rabbit – Matokie Slaughter
9. Drunkard’s Special – Coley Jones
10. Shine On Me – Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
11. Down In The Willow Garden – Texas Gladden & Hobart Smith
12. I Wish My Baby Was Born – Dillard Chandler
13. Jonah In The Wilderness – Henry Thomas
14. Amazing Grace – Horton Barker
15. I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow – Old Regular Baptists

The links embedded in the artist names do not link to webpages or Facebook accounts like in our regular mixes, instead I have linked to a picture of the artist in question, just to give you a better idea of who you are listening to as you play the mix.

If this collection of songs piques your interest, then Smithsonian Folkways is a great resource, a nonprofit record label that strives to ensure the conservation of musical history and cultural diversity. Several of the songs featured above can be found on compilations put out by the label, so I would encourage you to purchase if you like what you hear.

The post Lost and Found: Volume Two appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

1. Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas Cover) – Gwar^
2. Rebellion (Lies) (Arcade Fire Cover) – Trampled By Turtles^
3. Hickory (Iron & Wine Cover) – Pilots & Errors
4. Candy O (The Cars Cover) – Richard Buckner
5. No Diggity (Backstreet Cover) – Chet Faker
6. All Hell For a Basement (Big Sugar Cover) – Jordan Soles
7. Locked In (Wesley Wolfe Cover) – Schooner
8. Hollywood Forever Cemetry Sings (Father John Misty Cover) – Tashaki Miyaki
9. Motor Away (Guided By Voices Cover) – Bill Times a Billion
10. Kid’s Allright (Bettie Serveert Cover) – Three Blind Wolves
11. (What’s So Funny ‘bout) Peace Love and Understanding (Brinsley Schwartz Cover) – Shovels & Rope
12. Red Comet Dust (Jason Molina Cover) – CFCF
13. I Would Not Die in the Springtime (Stephen Foster Cover) – Field Report
14. On of Us Cannot Be Wrong (Leonard Cohen Cover) – Father John Misty
15. True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston Cover) – Isaac Delusion
16. Entertainment (Phoenix Cover) – Dinosaur Jr.
17. Hey Tonight (Free Energy Cover) – Patrick Stickles
18. Los Angeles, I’m Yours (The Decemberists Cover) – Mariachi El Bronx
19. Days of Heaven (Randy Newman Cover) – Phosphorescent
20. Everything Trying (Damien Jurado Cover) – Night Beds*
21. I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher Cover) – Mark Kozelek

* – Taken from the Night Beds Chapel Session by Fuel Friends
^ – Taken from the A.V. Undercover series.

This mix is intended as a way of giving artists some publicity. Please have a closer look at the bands you enjoy, then maybe go to a show and buy their records. They probably have families to feed too.

The Covers Mix: Volume #7 from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

The post The Covers Mix: Volume #7 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Tracklisting:

1. From Stardust To Sentience (High Places cover) – Banjo or Freakout
2. So Prone (SLUTEVER cover) – Ghost/Light
3. I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton cover) – Howth
4. Salvador Sanchez (Sun Kil Moon cover) – Little Silver
5. Brother (Annuals cover) – Manchester Orchestra
6. Darling (Magic Man cover) – And the Giraffe
7. When You Were Mine (Prince cover) – John Heart Jackie
8. I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses cover) – Coma Cinema
9. Crying (Roy Orbison cover) – Austra
10. Streets of Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen cover) Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
11. Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover) – Four Tet
12. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight (R.E.M. cover) – Oxford Collapse
13. My Proud Mountains (Townes van Zandt cover) – J. Tillman
14. Chelsea Hotel #2 (Leonard Cohen cover) – Sarah Jaffe
15. If I Handle You With Care (Trembling Blue Stars cover) – Evening Hymns
16. Left & Leaving (The Weakerthans cover) – Beat Radio
17. I Know What I Know (Paul Simon cover) – Graham Wright
18. Some Things Last A Long Time (Daniel Johnston cover) – The Twilight Sad
19. Unicorn (Gay Against You cover) – Dananananaykroyd
20. See U Again (Miley Cyrus cover) – The Mae Shi

Click on the band name in the tracklisting to be whizzed off to a specific page for each artist. Buy some music if you like what you hear. I didn’t bother with Dolly Parton, Springsteen etc. but if you need some pointers on where to find out more about them give us a shout.

Enjoy.

The Covers Mix: Volume #2 from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

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