Emma Kupa - Nawlins [Digital]

Artist: Emma Kupa
Title: Nawlins
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika083SG3
Release date: 14th August 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

The third single to be taken from Emma Kupa’s debut solo record is Nawlins.

Nawlins is a song about a period when I was travelling around a fair bit visiting family for various reasons (a wedding and an elderly relative with cancer - see my song Katie NYC) and I would end up hanging out with really fun people that I was put in touch with by friends and family here in the UK. It's always good to know someone in a new place who can show you round, especially if you're on your own. I love Rory's guitar solo so much. This song also features in Jeanie Finlay's documentary about Indietracks. The video was made with the help of my neighbour Sara who is a choreographer, her students, and Darren Hayman who edited it.

Video edited by Darren Hayman, choreographed by Sara Ford and danced by Artemas Nicoll Cowley, Isabella Yerassimou, Nina Siriwardena, Eliza Mahoney, Natalie Rees, Alice Birch, and Griffin Tremlow.

Following successes fronting Mammoth Penguins and the sorely missed Standard Fare, Emma Kupa releases her first full length solo album It Will Come Easier on 18 September:
“The hope in the title is important to me – it is something I try to hold onto when things feel difficult”.

It Will Come Easier delves through the trials and tribulations of attempting to navigate the crossroads of your early thirties. Head on and raw, Kupa leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets, the torment and pressure to succeed, and the dichotomy of now finding herself inclined to choose logic over impulse - “does her smile light up your heart, or do you just want to get under her shirt?” she asks on Does It Feel New.

Her most personal collection of songs to date, they  pick up from the intimate family portraits of Kupa’s debut solo EP, Home Cinema:
“The album explores aspects of love, escapism and fidelity, but there’s also a thread about accepting feelings of hopelessness when you don’t quite meet the many pressures of life’s expectations”.

In spite of the harsh directness of its subject matter, It Will Come Easier has an audible freshness and a spring in its step. The optimistic jaunt of Nothing At All defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. I Keep An Eye out is a follow up to Home Cinema’s Half Sister, written for the eponymous sibling that doesn’t know of Kupa.

Written and recorded over a period of time, Kupa felt she needed to give these 10 tracks some emotional space before making them public. Joined by bandmates from both Mammoth Penguins and Suggested Friends (Mark Boxall and Faith Taylor, respectively), alongside Laura Ankles, Joe Bear, Rory McVicar and Carmela Pietrangelo, the instrumentation is more diverse than in previous Kupa bands. From the sparse, evocative strings of Hey Love and the simple piano backing of unexpected wedding drama in Crying Behind The Marquee, through to the grinding synths of CP Reprise,  textural flourishes abound, belying Kupa’s background fronting noisy three-piece indie-pop outfits.

With nods to Dusty Springfield, The Unthanks and The Postal Service, It Will Come Easier is a mesmerising journey through early adulthood, poignant and expertly detailed.

“With Emma’s lovely voice and lyrical acuity brought to the fore with bare accompaniment on violin and cello, this makes for an ode to love that is both astute and fragile.” Folk Radio

“Now Emma has shared the video for second single “Hey Love”: watch below. It’s a naked look at a true relationship as lived out there in the real world: the everyday, the little compromises of life. Emma is filmed straight to camera, against 70s’ wallpaper, singing to her lover: “Hey love … / If you think it’s got boring / Just say love / And we’ll do something different.”
It’s a simple but powerfully universal sentiment of a shared life in the actual, delivered in Emma’s unadorned and charming tones, all beautifully restrained vocal power; sparse violin and cello backing are all that she needs to convey this little fragment of beauty. The ‘kitchen sink’ lyrics bring to mind an Alan Sillitoe short story lent melody. “ Backseat Mafia

“the song for the most part are pretty stark, just Emma and her voice; you do get some delicate string work to build in the slightest hint of texture throughout, though the focus remains on Kupa’s dynamic pipes. Honestly, her voice and lyrics make this entire record; I love the lyric below reminding us that “nobody’s a saint/and we’ve all got our problems.” It’s a good thing to keep in mind as we all hold tight to our relationships.” Austin Town Hall

“With no instruments to hide behind, Kupa’s vocals are endearing and pleasantly lilting. Its not a powerhouse performance but it is a perfect accompaniment to the chamber pop vibe.” Surviving The Golden Age

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Steven Adams and The French Drops - Soft Landings [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams and The French Drops
Title: Soft Landings
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika082SG3
Release date: 24th July 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Soft Landings is the final single to be taken from the forthcoming album Keep It Light.

“This started off as a cryptic short story I was writing, but I was playing with the guitar melody and grabbed some of the words for this. It’s about a thing happening on a summer evening. Inge Thomson sings these incredible backing vocals on it; she has one of my favourite voices and it’s always a thrill to hear her on one of my songs. Our old pal Horse played some really cool pedal steel as well.”

Steven Adams is a "national musical treasure" (The Guardian) who fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time on that band at the height of their success. 

He's been ploughing his own furrow ever since, with multiple name changes (Singing Adams, The Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk and - with 2018's Virtue Signals - experiments in krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop.

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

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Emma Kupa - Hey Love [Digital]

Artist: Emma Kupa
Title: Hey Love
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika083SG2
Release date: 10th July 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

The second single to be taken from Emma Kupa’s debut solo record is Hey Love.

'Hey Love' is about noticing and appreciating the positive things in a relationship. Emma’s lovely voice and lyrical acuity to the fore, with bare accompaniment on violin and cello. make for an ode to love that is both astute and fragile.

Following successes fronting Mammoth Penguins and the sorely missed Standard Fare, Emma Kupa releases her first full length solo album It Will Come Easier on 18 September:
“The hope in the title is important to me – it is something I try to hold onto when things feel difficult”.

It Will Come Easier delves through the trials and tribulations of attempting to navigate the crossroads of your early thirties. Head on and raw, Kupa leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets, the torment and pressure to succeed, and the dichotomy of now finding herself inclined to choose logic over impulse - “does her smile light up your heart, or do you just want to get under her shirt?” she asks on Does It Feel New.

Her most personal collection of songs to date, they  pick up from the intimate family portraits of Kupa’s debut solo EP, Home Cinema:
“The album explores aspects of love, escapism and fidelity, but there’s also a thread about accepting feelings of hopelessness when you don’t quite meet the many pressures of life’s expectations”.

In spite of the harsh directness of its subject matter, It Will Come Easier has an audible freshness and a spring in its step. The optimistic jaunt of Nothing At All defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. I Keep An Eye out is a follow up to Home Cinema’s Half Sister, written for the eponymous sibling that doesn’t know of Kupa.

Written and recorded over a period of time, Kupa felt she needed to give these 10 tracks some emotional space before making them public. Joined by bandmates from both Mammoth Penguins and Suggested Friends (Mark Boxall and Faith Taylor, respectively), alongside Laura Ankles, Joe Bear, Rory McVicar and Carmela Pietrangelo, the instrumentation is more diverse than in previous Kupa bands. From the sparse, evocative strings of Hey Love and the simple piano backing of unexpected wedding drama in Crying Behind The Marquee, through to the grinding synths of CP Reprise,  textural flourishes abound, belying Kupa’s background fronting noisy three-piece indie-pop outfits.

With nods to Dusty Springfield, The Unthanks and The Postal Service, It Will Come Easier is a mesmerising journey through early adulthood, poignant and expertly detailed.

“With Emma’s lovely voice and lyrical acuity brought to the fore with bare accompaniment on violin and cello, this makes for an ode to love that is both astute and fragile.” Folk Radio

“Now Emma has shared the video for second single “Hey Love”: watch below. It’s a naked look at a true relationship as lived out there in the real world: the everyday, the little compromises of life. Emma is filmed straight to camera, against 70s’ wallpaper, singing to her lover: “Hey love … / If you think it’s got boring / Just say love / And we’ll do something different.”
It’s a simple but powerfully universal sentiment of a shared life in the actual, delivered in Emma’s unadorned and charming tones, all beautifully restrained vocal power; sparse violin and cello backing are all that she needs to convey this little fragment of beauty. The ‘kitchen sink’ lyrics bring to mind an Alan Sillitoe short story lent melody. “ Backseat Mafia

“the song for the most part are pretty stark, just Emma and her voice; you do get some delicate string work to build in the slightest hint of texture throughout, though the focus remains on Kupa’s dynamic pipes. Honestly, her voice and lyrics make this entire record; I love the lyric below reminding us that “nobody’s a saint/and we’ve all got our problems.” It’s a good thing to keep in mind as we all hold tight to our relationships.” Austin Town Hall

“With no instruments to hide behind, Kupa’s vocals are endearing and pleasantly lilting. Its not a powerhouse performance but it is a perfect accompaniment to the chamber pop vibe.” Surviving The Golden Age

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Steven Adams and The French Drops - My Brother, The Racist [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams and The French Drops
Title: My Brother, The Racist
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika082SG2
Release date: 26th June 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

My Brother, The Racist is the second single taken from the forthcoming album “Keep It Light”, out in August 2020.

“True story. It’s an awkward thing to sing about, but it felt like the right thing to do. Write about what you know.

I worried that it was a bit depressing, but as soon as we started playing together it felt positive and optimistic. We finished recording just before lockdown and although that seems like a very long time ago, I’m so glad we got this song down. “

Steven Adams is a "national musical treasure" (The Guardian) who fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time on that band at the height of their success. 

He's been ploughing his own furrow ever since, with multiple name changes (Singing Adams, The Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk and - with 2018's Virtue Signals - experiments in krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop.

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“My Brother, The Racist is a song with a somewhat self-explanatory title as Steven explains, “it’s an awkward thing to sing about, but it felt like the right thing to do”. Like much of upcoming album, Keep It Light, here Steven seems to play with ideas of darkness and light, “I worried that it was a bit depressing, but as soon as we started playing together it felt positive and optimistic”. Certainly lyrically it hits a downbeat tone almost instantly, “my brother, the racist will die and I won’t know when Guess I’ll find out later, I can hold on till then”. From there though, the track seems to leave room for growth, Steven explores how they ended up the way they both are, and ultimately seems to find strength in letting go of a relationship that could never work. Musically too, the track seems to walk the line between emotional states, the bright shuffle of acoustic guitar and drums contrasted, by the more melancholic tones of piano and bass. Steven has suggested this is the best record that he’s ever made, and while that’s quite some claim, on this evidence we’re not going to argue.” For The Rabbits

“Maybe it’s just me, but the song title alone speaks to my last few months on the Internet, though not necessarily with my immediate family. Musically, Adams is still pulling out the steady folk-tinged power pop that works like a snake charmer on my ears; you can’t go wrong adding a subtle piano line anywhere in a tune” Austin Town Hall

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Emma Kupa - Nothing At All [Digital]

Artist: Emma Kupa
Title: Nothing At All
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika083SG1
Release date: 5th June 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Today, Friday 05 June we have the first track to be taken from  Emma Kupa’s (of Mammoth Penguins and the sorely missed Standard Fare, fame) first full length solo album ‘It Will Come Easier’ (18/09)

The optimistic jaunt of ‘Nothing At All’  defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. 

"The song channels the emotions of being stuck in a relationship which is going nowhere. Frustrating and confusing, you feel lost because you don’t know what you can do about it. In fact, all you can do is nothing and let it move on without you. “

Following successes fronting Mammoth Penguins and the sorely missed Standard Fare, Emma Kupa releases her first full length solo album It Will Come Easier on 18 September:
“The hope in the title is important to me – it is something I try to hold onto when things feel difficult”.

It Will Come Easier delves through the trials and tribulations of attempting to navigate the crossroads of your early thirties. Head on and raw, Kupa leads us through her tender reflections on relationship regrets, the torment and pressure to succeed, and the dichotomy of now finding herself inclined to choose logic over impulse - “does her smile light up your heart, or do you just want to get under her shirt?” she asks on Does It Feel New.

Her most personal collection of songs to date, they  pick up from the intimate family portraits of Kupa’s debut solo EP, Home Cinema:
“The album explores aspects of love, escapism and fidelity, but there’s also a thread about accepting feelings of hopelessness when you don’t quite meet the many pressures of life’s expectations”.

In spite of the harsh directness of its subject matter, It Will Come Easier has an audible freshness and a spring in its step. The optimistic jaunt of Nothing At All defies the futility in being unable to influence a particularly toxic situation. I Keep An Eye out is a follow up to Home Cinema’s Half Sister, written for the eponymous sibling that doesn’t know of Kupa.

Written and recorded over a period of time, Kupa felt she needed to give these 10 tracks some emotional space before making them public. Joined by bandmates from both Mammoth Penguins and Suggested Friends (Mark Boxall and Faith Taylor, respectively), alongside Laura Ankles, Joe Bear, Rory McVicar and Carmela Pietrangelo, the instrumentation is more diverse than in previous Kupa bands. From the sparse, evocative strings of Hey Love and the simple piano backing of unexpected wedding drama in Crying Behind The Marquee, through to the grinding synths of CP Reprise,  textural flourishes abound, belying Kupa’s background fronting noisy three-piece indie-pop outfits.

With nods to Dusty Springfield, The Unthanks and The Postal Service, It Will Come Easier is a mesmerising journey through early adulthood, poignant and expertly detailed.

“Nothing At All serves as a fine introduction to this new musical horizon, citing the influence of Lou Reed’s Satellite Of Love, it is a track of contrasts. Across the track, it blends a strutting banjo line with a swampy bass-line, a folky Americana-intro with a chorus shimmering with layers of vocals and soaring electric guitar thrashing, and even finds room for an orchestral flourish as it constantly mutates across its six-minute runtime.” For The Rabbits

“A bright and feverish outpouring of frustration, “Nothing At All” is a fresh emotional upheaval that seeks not to quell, but rather to release our pent-up tension in as cathartic a way as possible.” Atwood Magazine

“It’s interesting to hear this track, as it seems to draw on bits and pieces of her musical career, from the folkier moments with the banjo to that ripping guitar line you can hear in the distance…but of course, its always about that distinctively powerful voice. It’s hard to not see this song’s lyrics through the lens of the last few weeks, however, as the protagonist seems fed up with facing the same dilemma time and time again…so even our art is starting to call us out.” Austin Town Hall

“Emma Kupa’s “Nothing At All” is a moment of solitude—resting at the kitchen table and looking out into the entryway to the living room, beams of light carrying particles of dust directly at eye-level. It's a sigh-filled breath and the feeling of coming home to yourself again. This track is a full-on catharsis, a solitary vigil in a moment of recognition that often in the face of irrevocable circumstance we can do “absolutely nothing, nothing at all." Instrumentally, this arrangement feels like a triumphant release from the pressure and discomfort of feeling cornered in an environment that cultivates a pining for freedom. Her voice is like an old friend returning, dressed up in a new outfit of folky instrumental accompaniment and idyllic warmth, dispensing the familiar feeling of coming to terms with surrender.” The Wild Honey Pie

“‘Nothing At All’ flows with Kupa’s distinctive luscious vocals, oozing a subtle gritty raw emotion, alongside twinkling folk-strewn melodies. Filled with a reflective, heartfelt lyrical storytelling, it’s impossible not to become utterly immersed in the song’s subtle passion that shines through amongst its effervescent uptempo musicality. As it builds with shimmering harmonies, the beauty of multiple voices coming together, uniting, creates a truly heartwarming slice of stirring indie-pop.” Get In Her Ears

“it’s Emma’s voice which is her secret weapon; at once totally in the tradition of the C86 indie gal, it’s all got a ballsy rawness and a folk edge which you might expect to hear more from Eliza Carthy. It’s full-blooded, bruised, still in love with love; but sassier than you, make no mistake.” Backseat Mafia

“it gallops out of the stalls on a furious acoustic strum with only the soothing vocal harmonies able to dampen down the guitar and banjo” Mad Mackerel

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Darren Hayman - Home Time [12"/CD]

Artist: Darren Hayman
Title: Home Time
Format: 12” black vinyl and digipack CD
Cat#: Fika079LP | Fika079CD
Release date: 22nd May 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Darren Hayman returns with the new album Home Time, due out in June via Fika Recordings. An autobiographical album about break ups, the record is tender, honest and frequently funny. Darren set an 8 track, acoustic rule for the record. Everything sounds warm, close and intimate. Darren’s own love-worn, London voice is joined on every song by the sweet antipodean tones of Hannah Winter and Laura K, recording artists and songwriters themselves with Common or Garden and Fortitude Valley.

When Darren Hayman made his debut in 1997 with the acclaimed indie band Hefner his lyrical remit was the broken hearted. His early songs told the story of the lonesome and lost, and broken dreams of love on the back streets of London. After Hefner, Hayman’s palette grew to include a unique take on place and memory. In the early 2000s he wrote a trilogy of albums around the history of Essex. In 2012 he made an instrumental album describing the tranquillity of Lidos. In 2016 Darren was awarded ‘Hardest Working Musician’ by the Association of Independent Music for his epic project on Thankful Villages, the 55 villages that survived the Great War with no casualties. His most recent record, 12 Astronauts, tells the personal story of the only men to have walked on the Moon.

Darren is continually obsessed with the idea of what songs can be, and the stories they can tell. As he explains, “With projects like Thankful Villages, I became interested in what a record could be, using field recordings, interviews and songs to make sound collages. I wanted to return to the stricter art of song writing and try and make the twelve best compositions I could. I wanted to make useful songs, words that could be comfort, not just thoughts that would depress.”

The songs for Home Time were written over a three-year period but recorded quickly, and with love, in Darren’s home. Home Time is a fragile, subtle slice of prettiness. Wrap it around you.

Three digital singles will be released; ‘I Tried and I Tried and I Failed’, a song about the endless, circular nature of being human, ‘I Was Thinking About You’, a song about the uncontrollable nature of memory and how it continues to haunt us even when we consider the long buried, and ‘The Joint Account’, about how when trying to negotiate matters of the heart and mind, it is sometimes the physical objects that anchor us down in the mire.

A baby sister album I Can Travel Through Time with ten one-minute songs squeezed on a seven inch is coming out alongside it on the Formosa Punk label.

“Twenty-one years ago Hefner released one of the finest break-up and make-up albums of its era. To say that Hayman has done it again may be a bit reductive – in no sense at all is this a nostalgia trip, quite the opposite in fact – but nonetheless, this is one of the finest records of a consistently brilliant and varied solo career.” Folk Radio

“Sometimes you need to hear about someone else's problems to make you feel better about your own, and Hayman is especially good at that, leaving you humming in the process.” Brooklyn Vegan

“Hayman’s lyrics have always been unmistakable, with his narrative style and unabashed love of rhymes. If you liked Hefner, you will enjoy the return to their style on Home Time, which is engaging, touching and often funny.” The Quietus

“Hefner fans are going to be right at home here. But they should also appreciate a songwriter who has learned much over the past two decades – about his craft as a songwriter, and about himself as a performer.” For Folks Sake

“Delightful, delicate and poignantly relevant” Narc Magazine [4/5]

“The delights of Home Again is that Hayman sings about emotions that are easy to identify with but sometimes hard to articulate” Music OMH [4/5]

“An audibly beautiful listen, which has sad and comical aspects to it, Home Time is a great journey of a record.” The Fountain

“The playful, earnest indie pop that Hayman has built his career around is in full evidence on upbeat cuts like "I Was Thinking About You" and "I Tried and I Tried and I Failed," which ring with jaunty mandolin leads and sweet harmonies courtesy of collaborators Hannah Winter and Laura Kovic.” All Music [3/5]

“playful, charming and endearing” Americana UK

“full of literate, strummed indie songs enhanced by female backing vocals and a small ensemble that includes mandolin and violin. Thoughtful, wordy numbers such as “Because We Were Impossible” and the sweet Nikki Sudden-ish “The Joint Account” draw the listener in like a good book” The Arts Desk

“As with much of Home Time, The Joint Account feels both tender and achingly honest, it walks the lines of practicality and emotion, working its way through the pain and emerging, stumbling out the other side. This is Darren coming home to the songwriting that first found his fame, he’s a touch older, a touch wiser, and just as compelling as ever.” For The Rabbits

“'I Tried And I Tried And I Failed' is a key component of the album, with its gentle ruminations taking on a subtly meditative quality. Darren Hayman's indie pop roots shine through, with his melodic turn of phrase matched to a desire for originality that has only increased over time.” Clash Music premiere

“this playful little single. The track revolves around two lyrical lines, and that’s it; still, the thematic element kind of encourages you to get up and try and try again, no matter what the outcome…that seems to be the nature of all our lives, making sense of our failures” Austin Town Hall

Steven Adams and The French Drops - Bring on the Naps [Digital]

Artist: Steven Adams and The French Drops
Title: Bring on the Naps
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika082SG1
Release date: 15th May 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

 Steven Adams and The French Drops return with Bring on the Naps - a celebration of the daytime snooze. It’s the most upbeat, cheerful song from Adams for years; self referential in the style of Jonathon Richman, hinting of  a Crooked Rain-era Pavement, with a loving embrace of a few ‘classic’ musical tropes chucked in for good measure.

“We threw a lot at it; some sax, my kids, some bum notes. It’s more fun than a song about sleeping should be. My kids are singing on it because they were always around when I was writing it and I got them to sing on the choruses so I didn’t have to. When we first started recording I was belting it out, like a budget Axl Rose, but I loosened up."

The accompanying video was shot and edited during lockdown, with a roster of nearly 50 friends, associates and grudging accomplices, including:

The artists Dan Hillier, Tom Leamon and Babak Ganjei. The folk musicians Emily Barker, Lukas Drinkwater, John Smith, Martin Green (Lau) and Inge Thomson. Actors: Tom Price (who's also a Magic FM DJ), Finlay Robertson, Dave Kelly and Kirsten Slenning. Indie rock musicians Dan Mangan, Darren Hayman,  Justin Young (The Vaccines) and Mark Boxall (Mammoth Penguins). Legendary Spanish, Valencia and Middlesborough midfielder Gaizka Mendieta. Comedy writer Joel Morris and TV critic Julia Raeside. Adams's in-laws. Three dogs. Some kids.

Bring on the Naps is the first track taken from the forthcoming album “Keep It Light”, out in August 2020.

Steven Adams is a "national musical treasure" (The Guardian) who fronted country pranksters The Broken Family Band throughout the 2000s before calling time on that band at the height of their success. 

He's been ploughing his own furrow ever since, with multiple name changes (Singing Adams, The Singing Adams, Steven James Adams, Steven Adams & The French Drops), and a series of albums ranging from DIY indie rock, intimate folk and - with 2018's Virtue Signals - experiments in krautrock and politically-charged widescreen pop.

Originally from South Wales, Adams now lives in East London.

“It’s a celebration of the daytime snooze, the most upbeat, cheerful song from Adams for years; self-referential in the style of Jonathon Richman, hinting of a Crooked Rain-era Pavement” Americana UK

“Those familiar with Adam’s work over the years will know its something of a treasure to get something as upbeat as Bring On The Naps, but it sways and saunters through, sunnily extoling the virtues of the afternoon nap, with shimmering organ, Sax and just about everything else.” Backseat Mafia

“you can’t ignore the natural energy swinging through, playing atop that bouncing piano and the joyous choruses involving Adams’ own children backing him up” Austin Town Hall

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Darren Hayman - I Was Thinking About You [Digital]

Artist: Darren Hayman
Title: I Was Thinking About You
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika079SG3
Release date: 1st May 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Darren Hayman returns with the new album Home Time, due out on 22nd May via Fika Recordings. An autobiographical album about break ups, the record is tender, honest and frequently funny. Darren set an 8 track, acoustic rule for the record. Everything sounds warm, close and intimate. Darren’s own love-worn, London voice is joined on every song by the sweet antipodean tones of Hannah Winter and Laura K, recording artists and songwriters themselves with Common or Garden and Fortitude Valley.

My new album ‘Hometime’ was titled before all of this hullabaloo started. My next album is provisionally title ‘The New Rules’ which also might turn out to be accidentally prophetic.

The album and this song, ‘I Was Thinking About You’ are actually about divorce and breakup but they are also about retreat and the inner space we occupy when troubled.
I use that space a lot. I have a friend Paul who calls it ‘spending time in the back office.’

Also coincidentally to the lockdown and ideas of ‘home’, all three videos for this album were made inside my flat. The first two were made before we went into isolation but the video for ‘I Was Thinking About You’ was made in the first few weeks of the Covid 19 crisis in Britain.

I’ve always worked well with constraints and limitations and luckily that gives me a super power in these strange times. The six members of my band recorded their footage in their homes and sent them to me. I wanted to make it look a bit better then the divided ‘zoom’ style videos we’re getting used to now.

The band look like they’re having a lot more fun then they do when they are actually with me.

I hope you like it.

Darren

When Darren Hayman made his debut in 1997 with the acclaimed indie band Hefner his lyrical remit was the broken hearted. His early songs told the story of the lonesome and lost, and broken dreams of love on the back streets of London. After Hefner, Hayman’s palette grew to include a unique take on place and memory. In the early 2000s he wrote a trilogy of albums around the history of Essex. In 2012 he made an instrumental album describing the tranquillity of Lidos. In 2016 Darren was awarded ‘Hardest Working Musician’ by the Association of Independent Music for his epic project on Thankful Villages, the 55 villages that survived the Great War with no casualties. His most recent record, 12 Astronauts, tells the personal story of the only men to have walked on the Moon.

Darren is continually obsessed with the idea of what songs can be, and the stories they can tell. As he explains, “With projects like Thankful Villages, I became interested in what a record could be, using field recordings, interviews and songs to make sound collages. I wanted to return to the stricter art of song writing and try and make the twelve best compositions I could. I wanted to make useful songs, words that could be comfort, not just thoughts that would depress.”

The songs for Home Time were written over a three-year period but recorded quickly, and with love, in Darren’s home. Home Time is a fragile, subtle slice of prettiness. Wrap it around you.

Three digital singles will be released; ‘I Tried and I Tried and I Failed’, a song about the endless, circular nature of being human, ‘I Was Thinking About You’, a song about the uncontrollable nature of memory and how it continues to haunt us even when we consider the long buried, and ‘The Joint Account’, about how when trying to negotiate matters of the heart and mind, it is sometimes the physical objects that anchor us down in the mire.

A baby sister album I Can Travel Through Time with ten one-minute songs squeezed on a seven inch is coming out alongside it on the Formosa Punk label.

The Little Hands of Asphalt - Half Empty [12"]

Artist: The Little Hands of Asphalt
Title: Half Empty
Format: Vinyl LP | digital
Cat#: Fika080LP
Release date: 3rd April 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Half Empty is the new album from The Little Hands of Asphalt; their first output in almost a decade. The album will be released in 5 parts: 5 pairs of singles followed by a full vinyl release at the end of March from Fika Recordings in the UK and Furuberget in Norway. The band picks up the thread where they left off; low-key pearls with hints of indie and Americana, but primarily classic, timeless pop.

Lyseid elaborates on the influences for the album: “I think the usual suspects that always get referred to are still present: Elliot Smith, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and Bright Eyes. However, what informed this record stylistically is more my love for other artists and genres: 60's crooning (Scott Walker, Sinatra), European art pop (Serge Gainsbourg, Can), modern Nashville country and 90's (Swedish) power pop.”

The Little Hands of Asphalt is the solo project of Sjur Lyseid, whom released two records and a couple of EPs under the same moniker back in 2009-2012. The name is a play on Elvis Costello’s liner note credits on Kings of America: The Little Hands of Concrete. The name has stuck as the project has evolved; despite once being mistaken for a road building crew on arrival to a Norwegian festival!

The album, Floors, from 2012, received critical acclaim in Lyseid’s home of Norway, and was voted the sixth best record of the year in the Norwegian national newspaper VG. Press praised Lyseid's melodic qualities; and was been frequently highlighted as one of Norway's sharpest songwriters in English. The band toured most major festivals in Norway, and a lot on the continent. Since then, the project has been quiet, and Lyseid has primarily worked as a producer and songwriter for other artists at his Six Feet Over studios in Oslo. Now he's back in front of the glass, with what may be the project's strongest songs ever. There are numerous guest appearances through the record, including Allo Darlin’s Elizabeth Morris on No Reception, and members of Jaga Jazzist, Sunturns, Moddi, Making Marks and Apothek all contribute throughout the LP.

Press for Half Empty

Aftenposten [6/6] [Norwegian]

Klassekampen [Norwegian]

“the record, or really all records, is full of songs that now get a glimpse of something prophetic, even if they were never meant to be. Songs about isolation or oppressive drowsiness, about death, even dystopia, and then we're suddenly in the middle of the same dystopia” Musikknyheter premiere
Musikknyheter album review [9/10] [Norwegian]

“one of the best Norwegian (and international!) releases in 2020!” Poppklikk

“Honestly, both these songs remind me a lot of the Weakerthans (or John K solo stuff). “No Reception” has that upbeat energy, though you can still hear the penchant for pop sensibility. On the flipside, you’ve got “Drinking Song,” which is more of an intimate ballad that is sure to endear itself to any listener. I’m just all about these tunes” Austin Town Hall

“a fine offering that should get the project a little more attention with this UK release than its predecessors” PennyBlack Music

“The fittingly titled, Begin Again, is a winning example of subtle ambition; while it makes no bombastic statement of intent, buried within is a winning complexity. The Mountain Goats-like vocal line, accompanied by a fluctuating backing of guitar, piano, and some delightfully subtle orchestral flourishes.” For The Rabbits

“graceful folk-pop” Fanfare Pop

“It’s pretty great – very much in the Fika style of indie pop” A Song A Day

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Darren Hayman - The Joint Account [Digital]

Artist: Darren Hayman
Title: The Joint Account
Format: Digital single
Cat#: Fika079SG2
Release date: 3rd April 2020
Bandcamp | Spotify

Darren Hayman returns with the new album Home Time, due out on 22nd May via Fika Recordings. An autobiographical album about break ups, the record is tender, honest and frequently funny. Darren set an 8 track, acoustic rule for the record. Everything sounds warm, close and intimate. Darren’s own love-worn, London voice is joined on every song by the sweet antipodean tones of Hannah Winter and Laura K, recording artists and songwriters themselves with Common or Garden and Fortitude Valley.

"Whilst trying to negotiate matters of the heart and mind it is sometimes the physical objects that anchor us down in the mire. 

The unpacking boxes, the changing of addresses, the informing of friends; there is a mine waiting to be detonated in every corner. Never more so than in a photo album. These images we created with the sole intention of keeping forever. We want to give the briefest moments the permanence.

But what to do with them once everything else falls apart? What should we do with these monuments of love?"

When Darren Hayman made his debut in 1997 with the acclaimed indie band Hefner his lyrical remit was the broken hearted. His early songs told the story of the lonesome and lost, and broken dreams of love on the back streets of London. After Hefner, Hayman’s palette grew to include a unique take on place and memory. In the early 2000s he wrote a trilogy of albums around the history of Essex. In 2012 he made an instrumental album describing the tranquillity of Lidos. In 2016 Darren was awarded ‘Hardest Working Musician’ by the Association of Independent Music for his epic project on Thankful Villages, the 55 villages that survived the Great War with no casualties. His most recent record, 12 Astronauts, tells the personal story of the only men to have walked on the Moon.

Darren is continually obsessed with the idea of what songs can be, and the stories they can tell. As he explains, “With projects like Thankful Villages, I became interested in what a record could be, using field recordings, interviews and songs to make sound collages. I wanted to return to the stricter art of song writing and try and make the twelve best compositions I could. I wanted to make useful songs, words that could be comfort, not just thoughts that would depress.”

The songs for Home Time were written over a three-year period but recorded quickly, and with love, in Darren’s home. Home Time is a fragile, subtle slice of prettiness. Wrap it around you.

Three digital singles will be released; ‘I Tried and I Tried and I Failed’, a song about the endless, circular nature of being human, ‘I Was Thinking About You’, a song about the uncontrollable nature of memory and how it continues to haunt us even when we consider the long buried, and ‘The Joint Account’, about how when trying to negotiate matters of the heart and mind, it is sometimes the physical objects that anchor us down in the mire.

A baby sister album I Can Travel Through Time with ten one-minute songs squeezed on a seven inch is coming out alongside it on the Formosa Punk label.