Tag: one track mind

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Mint Julep

The Portland duo discuss their addiction to Ruby Haunt’s Sorry, Sabrina

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Today we welcome wife and husband duo Hollie and Keith Kenniff aka Mint Julep to the blog: a group I’ve only recently discovered but are quickly becoming a TPW favourite. Their new album In A Deep and Dreamless Sleep came out last week, and honestly, it’s just so wonderful. Touching on elements of shoegaze, indie-pop and more amorphous forms of electronica, it conjures an atmosphere as rich, vivid and densely packed with ideas as anything you’re likely to hear this year.

For their track, Keith has selected a short but powerful track from Californian group Ruby Haunt’s 2018 album Blue Hour.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Anna B Savage

The singer-songwriter discusses her abiding love for a Nat King Cole staple

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Released last month, Anna B Savage’s debut album A Common Turn was three years in the making and the result is remarkable, sounding at once defiant and deeply vulnerable and exploring themes both lightweight and profound. Throughout, her voice is never short of extraordinary, with tracks frequently starting life as exposed, skeletal frames before building to triumphant, roaring crescendos.

For her track, Anna has selected an artist and record that will doubtless be familiar to most, and speaks about it with such passion that we should probably all take a moment to truly appreciate its magnificence.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Burd Hauz

The California-based artist finds inspiration in the raw emotion of Walking Volcanoes’ Expire Together

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Today we welcome California-based artist Burd Hauz, whose debut album In My Sky landed last month and is already one of my favourite LPs of the year. Bringing together sultry R&B cuts, tough, trappy beats, lo-fi indie rock and even grungy guitars, it’s 30 minutes of pure, heartfelt, and seemingly boundless creativity, packing in an outrageous amount of different tones and styles in its short running time. It’s really brilliant: you should go and listen to it.

For her track, Burd Hauz has picked a fiercely emotional record that informed several of the tracks on her album.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Elori Saxl

The US musician and filmmaker writes about the delicate balance between improvisation and composition in big dog little dog’s Panorama

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Today we welcome US musician and filmmaker Elori Saxl to the blog, whose album The Blue of the Distance has just been released. Combining digitally-processed recordings of wind and water with analog synthesizers and chamber orchestra, The Blue of Distance is an enchanting blend of ambient and neo-classical pieces, with the album taking its title from a phrase coined by Rebecca Solnit in A Field Guide to Getting Lost, referring to the phenomenon of faraway mountains appearing blue due to light particles getting lost over distance.

For her One Track Mind feature, Elori has written about big dog little dog’s Panorama with an eloquence and level of detail that makes me want to massively up my game. Over to her…

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Quinton Barnes

The singular R&B artist gets jazzy with Nina Simone and John Coltrane

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Kicking off the series in 2021 is the incredible Quinton Barnes: easily one of my favourite musical discoveries of last year and a truly extraordinary artist. I’ve had his album Aarupa on hard rotation since it came out, and I genuinely believe his is destined for greatness. His music is highly personal, unpredictable, urgent, sensual and impactful, and I just can’t get enough of it. Thankfully I don’t have to wait too long, as he has new music landing in the next few weeks, which is one of the few things making the start of this hideous month vaguely bearable.

For his selection he’s broken basically the only rule of One Track Mind and picked two tracks: but all is instantly forgiven, as they’re both stone-cold classics, spoken about with an irresistible passion, and I’m incredibly grateful to him for taking part.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Me Lost Me

The Newcastle-based musician talks about the emotional impact of Joanna Newsom’s work

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Next up on the series is Me Lost Me, who released her latest album The Good Noise in November. It’s a fantastic piece of music, and ranges from meandering, folky ballads to soaring, ethereal pop, many of which are pinned together with crisp and precise drum programming, shot through with a dreamy and completely unique atmosphere. It’s just brilliant, and if you happen to be in the area we massively recommended checking out one of her upcoming (fingers crossed) live shows, as her recent stream was one of my personal lockdown highlights.

For her selection she’s picked out the opening track to Joanna Newsom’s 2015 album Divers, and discusses the multitude of arguably conflicting emotions it stirs within her.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Loma

The band’s Jonathan Mieburg celebrates the work of Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khatchaturian.

The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Following the inaugural feature from Nation of Language’s Ian Devaney, we’re with another of my favourite bands for round two: Loma.

Loma released their second album, Don’t Shy Away, earlier this year: a stunningly brilliant body of work the moves from the propulsive, dream-pop of tracks like Half Silences and choral theatrics of Elliptical Days, to the ghostly, folk-like strains of the title track: undoubtedly one of the most crushingly beautiful singles of the year.

For his selection, Loma’s Jonathan Mieburg – who many will know from his work with Shearwater – has picked out an epic, haunting piece of classical music from one of the most celebrated films of all time.

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Interviews Music

One Track Mind: Nation of Language

The US synth-pop bands’s Ian Devaney kicks off our new series by waxing lyrical about The Beach Boys.

Over the past decade or so of interviewing artists, one thing I’ve found is that it’s often difficult for them to talk about their own music. After all, music is the great communicator: if you need to explain the story behind its creation, or the meaning behind its lyrical content, then you’re in danger of missing the point. Conversely – given the chance – they more often that not love being effusive about other people’s work. One Track Mind is an opportunity for them to do just that.

The premise is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!

Kicking off the series is Ian Devaney from Nation of Language, who are arguably my favourite new musical discovery of 2020. Their album Introduction, Presence has brought me an inordinate amount of joy this year, and I’m extremely grateful to Ian for taking the time to speak to me.

For his selection, Ian chose a late-era Beach Boys song that deals in melancholy and nostalgia, themes that are also present in much of Nation of Language’s music.

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