Interview – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Written for and published by the awesome The 405.

Alex Ebert portrait by Natasha Thompson, see her blog, here

It's no secret that I love Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – I've even blogged about them a couple of times before. So when the lovely guys at The 405 asked if I would like to have a chat with lead singer Alex Ebert I jumped at the chance: 

Before you guys were Up from Below and now you’re Here – does that mean Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros have arrived?

You’ve put it together, right? You’re the first one! I mean that’s exactly how I describe it – the first album was reaching towards something and this album is sort of speaking from somewhere. The first album is moving towards someplace it wants to be and it’s sort of chaotic in that sense, it’s sort of desperate. But this album is speaking from a place that’s arrived and yeah…you’re exactly right.

How do you even make an album – there’s so many of you? There was a nice video going round of you all in the studio making some amazing sounds.

Well yeah, that’s basically how some of it happens. I think writing is still very often a very intimate experience but sometimes it happens on a group level and all at once. The thing that we really all did together consistently was work out arrangements and put the time in and be present to play our instruments over and over again and work out what was what and what goes where. That’s something that we didn’t really do on the first album – the first album was all like demo’d up before we recorded it so…

So there is kind of a more relaxed feel to this album maybe?

Yeah it’s a bit more relaxed and I gotta keep reminding people that it’s one part of a double album and the second part is coming out in November. And the second part is definitely a lot more rambunctious! It’s not necessarily that the end of this chapter has been reached and that’s where we stand, but this album is just part of what we wanted to express and it’s where we’re coming from right now.

And what’s the message you’re trying to spread with this first half of the double album?

I think to me, it’s defiance. That is the biggest theme to me, and that sort of commitment to joy and transcendence – even in the face of realism or pessimism and all that kind of thing. We get called a very joyful, celebratory band and I think that’s true but I don’t think we ignore, or that there would be any benefit of trying to ignore, all of the sort of more painful sides of life, we just like to be about transcending that stuff into something else.

Audiences really connected with the last album and loved those songs, what’s the reaction been to the new tracks when you’ve played them live?

Oh it’s amazing! Man On Fire is amazing live and we’re starting to play that really well and that’s been amazing. Child is amazing and Fiya Wata – we’ve been playing that for a long time, but Man On Fire has become this very frothy experience where everyone just starts going bananas and it’s really wild. It’s so fun… so fun.

You’re getting bigger and bigger though, have you lost some of ability to connect with audiences now you’re playing to bigger audiences?

No, we’re playing bigger venues and the thing is that it gets stranger and stranger that we’re not changing and making it a suddenly “professional show”. The juxtaposition gets greater and greater between who we are and what the venue assumes you’re supposed to be. But realising that I felt that pressure on myself just by being in these venues and what these venues sort of expect from you as structures – they sort of ask you to be regal and sort of a bit more highfalutin – and rebelling intentionally against that has been a really interesting experiencing. We sort of just break down those walls and fly into the audience, and hang out, and do our thing, without a setlist and all that – it’s pretty wild. And I think for some people, to be in one of those larger venues, and for it to still feel somewhat chaotic is a pretty jarring but hopefully liberating experience.

You played a very theatrical show at the Old Vic Tunnels in London last year. Any plans for more of that?

You know, a lot of effort goes into that kind of thing and a lot of people and a lot of time. We would love to something like that again but I think the closest we will come to that is when we come to play at Latitude Festival. But other than that we’re mostly just going to bring our bodies not bring a whole giant show. But what we might try and do is to involve local artists and local people who want to participate in something and wrap our heads around something. But for the most part, right now, we’re just concentrating on playing shows and making the music.

Here is out on Rough Trade now. 

Interview - Jamie Ley

Jamie Ley - 'Goodbye' from Tommy Leigh on Vimeo.

Written for and published by fabulous folk blog For Folk's Sake

Emerging from London’s seemingly never-ending and ever-talented pool of wonderful folksy-types, Jamie Ley has been packing out a variety of the capital’s venues with people, all eager to hear his soulful and timeless tunes. Emma Barlow caught up with him to talk about the rise and rise of folk, his inspirations, and what the future holds.

FFS: Do you describe your music as folk? Or is it a label that has been somewhat thrust on you?

JL: I guess it is folk, but I don’t really think we are this or we are that. We usually get described as folk or nu-folk, it’s always got some folk in there somewhere. I don’t consider it anything I just consider it my songs played as best as we can play them!

London has become something of a haven for up-and-coming folk acts, who do you most admire?

Most admire…I dunno. I like what’s happening with folk and it’s exciting to be in anyway involved in it. I admire how massive and how mainstream Mumford & Sons are now. Like I still cant really believe it. Usually bands takes like 5 years to get that big. I’ve played with them in Cardiff and I know them. That gig in Cardiff – about 2 years ago, there were about 20 people in a room and now they’re headlining Reading or whatever. So I admire what they’ve done for folk – the fact that they’ve made people more aware and bought this kind of music to people’s attention. And they’re great musicians, really great.

I think that’s what people like because it’s less of the kind of manufactured pop music and more people on stage with cool instruments like the banjo and the mandolin making honest music and that’s what appeals, that’s what appealed to me about it forever and that’s what I think people are starting to see. And I’ve always admired Johnny Flynn, he was one of my favourite artists while I was at uni and now I’ve had the privilege to like play with him. Bands like that – I always thought they were cool are suddenly much cooler, which is good for me, so I’m a bit cooler now too!

So that’s you’re more recent influences what are some of your older ones?

Bloody hell! Well, obviously The Beatles, so boring! Have you heard of the band Love? Arthur Lee, he’s a bit of a legend, Bob Dylan. But my true greatest hero of all time is Johnny Cash. Yeah I love Johnny Cash. And also songwriters like him, I kind of aspire to be like Leonard Cohen. As a lyricist he’s incredible and his poetry… even the way he sings them…he sings them as the poems they are, which really appeals.

Okay, so what about the poets that inspire you?

Well I used to be into the Romantics, you know the Shelley’s of this world and the Dylan Thomas’s but I’ve recently kind of moved away from that, just because, you know, it’s healthy! I’m into a few German poets and writers – they have a theory about pure imagery and it’s less about words and more about telling things like straight to the point. It’s all about writing in a purist way rather than using fanciful words so yeah: I’m trying to do that with my songs.

Is songwriting something that comes easily to you then or is it really hard work?

Um…sometimes I can sit there for like a week and nothing will come out! Or even a month! And I’ll just be banging my head against the wall. But other times I can write three in a day so it just depends. It’s cliché but if you’re sitting there with your guitar and you just feel you’re in the zone, you’ve got your music mojo or whatever so it just comes out. That’s the time you’ve got to sit there and make yourself keep working at it because that’s the time that’s going to be the most fruitful.

Are you more at home with a band behind you on stage these days or do you miss going it alone?

Yeah at the moment we are doing kind of a mix. So we play three songs as a band and then I’ll do a few. Because there’s something really special and intimate when you’re on your own on stage with an audience. But personally I prefer having my pals around me on stage and I get more into it. Now I feel a bit naked when they leave!

And how did the current band line-up come to be?

I played some gigs in Steeles in North London because my friend Rodney Fisher, who is an amazing musician, he runs a folk night there. We used to have lock-ins and things and I got chatting with one of the barmen, Matt. We just got playing some stuff together and he ended up becoming my bass player and then he knows Jack our drummer from a former band. So we pinched Jack from his old band. Elena Tonra – we had played a lot of gigs together and got on well so she started singing and then we’ve got Bobby on piano, who is our newest sort of musical hero. So basically we just went pilfering from other people’s bands. But in a really charming way so no one seems to mind…yeah so, don’t tell anyone that!

So what can we expect from Jamie Ley, what are the big plans?

Well expect to see a release, quite soon. I’m doing my showcase on the 20^th October at the Flowerpot. So getting a lot of people down, lots of people that haven’t seen me who want to see me um….and hopefully that will be a great night and we’ll push on from there with a tour and a release and everything that follows.

Interview - Jessica Dance, accessories designer and all-round creative-type person

This interview was originally done for fab lifestyle site Running In Heels.

Despite only just graduating from The Arts University College Bournemouth, Jessica Dance, 22, has already had success with two quirky jewellery and accessories collections. Her latest, called 'Couture Creatures', is available to buy from Kabiri. She was awarded winner of this years Per Aquum Creative Marketing prize at London Graduate Fashion Week and her delightful blog is well worth a visit if you'd like to see what else this creative star of the future is up to.

Have you always wanted to be a designer?

No… I wanted to be a vet when I was 6, but that was short lived. I think I have always known I would not work in a 9-5 job, my overactive imagination meant that I would definitely work in the creative industry.

How did you get to where you are today and would you do anything differently?

Persistence! And always being confident in my work, my work is an acquired taste so it’s so important to really believe in what I am creating.

How did you get started as a designer?

I studied fashion at university. When I started uni I had no idea what I wanted to do. I didn't find my place of study inspirational and I felt I didn't fall into this category of 'fashion'. My way of working seemed to confuse people. I created my own little world; in my mind handmade rabbits lunching in the garden with a picnic set was humorous, endearing and exciting; and that to me was a fashion shoot, is it not? There were quite a few people who advised against my way of working, however being stubborn and probably a bit naive I shunned this advice and this drove me to work harder and inspired me to design my own collection.

How would you describe your overall aesthetic?

My props and accessories are very often playful. I love tactility so my pieces take on a three-dimensional form, inviting people to touch and interact with them. I always make my props and accessories by hand and I always make them myself. I suppose I'm a bit of a perfectionist but I think this is reflected in the overall quality and personality of the finished pieces.

Couture Creatures from Rob Francis on Vimeo.

Influences?

Fantasy stories and vintage craft books.

Do you feel British or European?

British, I love old fashioned English eccentricity and….tea.

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Yeasayer.

Jewellery trend for this season?

Tactility, handmade and a return to time consuming craft.

What couldn't you live without?

That’s difficult it’s a tie between animals or all-in-one suits.

Dream purchase?

Electric blue silk, Kenzo Jumpsuit.

Favourite movie?

My favourite film seems to change from month to month…. My current one has to be Fantastic Mr Fox. The attention to detail is meticulously perfect.

One piece of jewellery every girl should own?

Everyone needs to own a little Happet brooch from my current Couture Creatures collection!

Favourite European city and why?

Poland, I love all the little cellar bars and interesting shops.

Desert island book?

Fluffy by Simone Lia.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I never really know where I will be in 5 days let alone 5 years…. I like to think I'll be working in my own studio making ridiculous props and accessories for a variety of projects from music videos to fashion shows.

Can you run in heels?

No I can barely walk in them. But I own vast amounts.