EP Review: Freak Slug ‘Freak Slug on Audiotree Live’
EP Review: Freak Slug ‘Freak Slug on Audiotree Live’ “Freak Slug on Audiotree Live” is one of the first times in a while that I’ve had to stop and listen to a whole project. 9 June 2025 By Ricardo Labrada Currently Listening to: When on the lookout for new tracks to review, I always wait for something to catch my attention. There are usually good tracks and some occasional bad tracks that catch your attention in the wrong ways, but normally just middling songs that go in one ear and out the other only to be forgotten immediately. This EP is the furthest thing from these examples. “Freak Slug on Audio Tree” is one of the first times in a while that I’ve had to stop and listen to a whole project. Indie, Rock and Pop rock are some of the genres that I’m extremely picky and pretentious about, yet after listening to their Audio Tree set I immediately looked it up on YouTube to re-listen with the interview. The last time I was left this impressed was Viji’s track “Karaoke”. Before that, it was over seven years ago with Soccer Mommy on Audio Tree as well. In other words, I was left very impressed by Freak Slug. The short set is nearly 23 minutes long, yet it remained in my head a lot longer than that currently being played on repeat as I write this review. It’s a work that instantly catches your attention. The first track “Ya Ready’’draws you in with slick guitar work that quickly gets loud when the band joins in. The drum and guitar work just flow so well together taking the spotlight for this track. The track is just an infectious work with the finale living in my head as singer Xenya Genovese repeats “Ye I’m ready” and finishes off with a flurry of perfect “ooooo’s.” Meanwhile “Sexy Lemon”, arguably my favourite track, brings out Genovese’s northern accent with the distorted guitars almost drowning her lovely voice. The track’s use of the quiet verse, loud chorus, and song structure popularised by the Pixies and Nirvana further illustrates their throwback style mixed with touches of modern. Following this are “Friday” and “Hello”, two tracks that bring a calmer vibe toning down the heavier sound some of the choruses contained. In particular “Hello” exemplifies this with the sound being accompanied by relatable lyrics: “Today’s the day I say helloToday’s the day I let you know” Hinting at building up the courage to speak to someone you have a crush on nor find attractive for a long time. While not a completely accurate representation of their sound, they are reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, particularly with this song reminding me of the track “Maps”.The final track “Killer” is another track that leaves an impression with Genovese’s soothing vocals mixed with distorted and loud backing instruments. They border on drowning her voice out yet, they do not. They honestly are the most fun aspects of the songs seemingly getting louder as the tracks continue. I can only imagine how fun these loud, almost deafening, choruses must be in concert. Overall this EP is one I checked out over a week ago and kept being drawn back into, feeling the need to praise and discuss Freak Slug here. The lyrics’ themes are subjects that are really relatable from “Hello” hinting at the courage to go say hello to someone while “Killer” deals with accountability for negative actions. I highly recommend checking out this live Audio Tree set as it leaves a great first impression on the group. Furthermore, I recommend the full Audio Tree YouTube video as the interviews give you a deeper understanding of Xenya and her group. The combination of the raw yet soothing vocals and slick guitar work leaves a sound reminiscent of the late 90s and early 2000s alternative and is very much welcome in what I perceive to be a bland alternative scene at the moment. You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
Wide Awake 2025 Review – A Political Celebration of Music and Community:
Wide Awake 2025 Review – A Political Celebration of Music and Community: No surprises here – Wide Awake was brilliant. 6 June 2025 By Caitlin Taylor It was a shaky start – news of legal action against the festival for not following regulations meant rumours swirled that it would be cancelled just days before but Wide Awake brushed this off and carried on. After sadly missing out last year, I was determined to drag our founder Isla along to experience the best of London Day festivals and it was well worth it. Daniel Avery did an amazing job at curating the Dazed stage which took place inside a giant big top tent. The first act we caught there was Chanel Beads who were, as always, captivating and incredibly cool. As he did at their Pitchfork show last year, Shane Lavenders requested that the lights facing that band be shut off so that they were backlit, leaving the audience with a shadow puppet-esque view. Maya McGrory (who recently released her own solo album as Colle) was particularly enchanting whenever she was on the mic. They were also joined by regular King Krule collaborator Gal Go on sax. Shout out to Hello Mary who we unfortunately missed but heard great things about from others, they’re definitely on our radar for the future. A horrible timing clash meant that while I planted myself firmly at Fcuckers, Isla made a mad dash across the park to catch parts of deBasement, Mannequin Pussy and English Teacher – but I was told they were all definitely worth the sprint. Fcuckers were just insanely fun, they had the entire crowd jumping and dancing around, particularly to their opening and closing songs ‘Homie Don’t Shake’ and ‘Bon Bon’. We also caught Nadine Shah who was a powerhouse with bellowing vocals and a crazy stage presence. She even brought out Spider from the Pogues to perform ‘Boys from the County Hell’ which prompted certain people to join arms and dance around in drunken circles – no naming names. CMAT was the penultimate act on the main stage, riding the high of her recent TikTok virality. Everyone with an embarrassingly high screen time could be seen dancing along to ‘Take A Sexy Picture of Me’. After a while, I ran off to catch Cobrah who ended up being pretty late. I wasn’t complaining though as it meant Sega Bodega (who I’d sadly resigned myself to not seeing) had extended his set past his designated time. Her eventual appearance was worth the wait, however, giving the sexiest performance of the day even featuring a very brief Cou Cou Chloe appearance/lap-dance that left everyone in the big top tent hot and bothered. Wide Awake is an undeniably political festival as shown by their refusal to give into the campaign against their headliners Kneecap which was kicked off by their divisive Coachella set earlier this year and culminated in a terrorism charge against member Mo Chara. We caught whispers of a secret set which turned out to be a speech from Jeremy Corbyn on the main stage mid-way through. He championed grassroots music venues, the power of community, and Palestine. Headliners Kneecap reinforced similar messages during their set, really hammering into the audience the importance of standing up for what you know is right despite the consequences. The support Wide Awake provides to grassroots venues should also be championed, with them providing stages for MOTH Club and The Shacklewell Arms as well as the South East London DIY skate spot The Grove. The world feels like a scary place at the moment and it’s beautiful to see so much community still remains. Walking around the festival we encountered so many fellow journalists, local musicians, and industry people all of whom were keen to chat and share thoughts/cigarettes. Afterwards, Isla texted me to say she had “the bloody best day ever” and I wholeheartedly agree. You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
New Single: Night Tapes ‘babygirl (like n01 else)’
New Single: Night Tapes ‘babygirl (like n01 else)’ Walking a hair-raising tightrope between girlish and ghoulish, the latest in a package of singles dropped by Night Tapes balances the sexy with the ever-so-slightly sinister. 28 May 2025 By Scarlett Stokes Currently Listening to: According to Night Tapes, their single “babygirl (like n01 else)” is a sonic imagining of the dark feminine – taking to Instagram, they write that this femininity “is fluid, violent, nurturing, monstrous, beautiful, chaotic, and whole.” That’s a whole lot of adjectives for one song, and big boots to fill. Despite the high sell by the band, it’s a promise they mostly manage to fulfil. “babygirl (like n01 else)” is reminiscent of Portishead’s “Sour Times”, or Massive Attack and Elizabeth Fraser’s “Teardrop”; think Women crooning ominously romantic ditties overlaying an unnerving trip-hop beat. The song hails an upcoming album, “portals//polarities”, set for release on September 26. Released by Southeast London’s Night Tapes, a dream pop band that emerged from evening jams between housemates Max Doohan, Sam Richards and Iiris Vesik, they deftly craft delicately psychedelic, synth-spun soundscapes. Another of the recent singles, “pacifico”, was inspired by the Mighty Souls of Mischief’s “93 ‘Til Infinity”, given a haunted house treatment. Sampling the legendary hip-hop tune and reimagining it into a sweetly sung trip-hop bop lands Night Tapes slap bang into my good books. Iiris Vesik, the voice of Night Tapes, lulls throughout “babygirl (like n01 else)” with a gentle, quiet threat. Almost baby-like, her saccharine-sweet, ultra-feminine vocals are paired with minimal instrumentation: dragging kick drums, a sparsely plucked guitar, and arpeggiated synths. For a song depicting the chaos and beautiful contradiction of whatever exactly “dark femininity” is meant to be, the name “babygirl” in and of itself is apt. A term of affection, alongside a diminutive in the realest sense of the word, it does have intrinsic sexual connotations (the most memorable example of late is the eponymous film, starring Nicole Kidman, where an older woman is sexually liberated with the help of a hot younger man). There is much to be said for the infantilisation of grown women, but the title of the song, paired with Vesik’s unsettlingly ageless voice, both innocently pitched and icily commanding, wryly captures this irony. The music video of “babygirl (like n01 else)” unfolds like a demonically bad trip. Hyper-saturated with the Twilight blue filter and filtered through grainy clusters of pixels, Night Tapes are interspersed with churning visions of flames, forests, and rolling blue seas. Vesik’s face morphs from an old woman to her now, wrinkles uncreasing, before shots of her as a young girl floats on screen. Surprisingly absent when citing their influences for “babygirl (n01 else)” are any explicit trip hop mentions. The synths and slowness, alongside the subject matter (the terrifying enormity of what it means to be a girl), bear a startling likeness to Air’s The Virgin Suicides. The main inspiration for the tune was Madonna’s “Frozen” and Bjork’s “Hyperballad”; the brief was “simple, but captivating”. It is dreamy, bordering on nightmarish, with a 90s sound portending a post-apocalyptic future. “babygirl (like n01 else)” feels like a haunting – it is tense, egg-shell fragile, and could shatter into a scream in a given moment. Whilst Night Tapes don’t give a specific meaning to the lyrics of the song, they establish a clear vibe: “This song is about a specific energy and feelings of wanting to possess//control that can accompany it. In the right amount and in the right place and time this energy is sexy as fu*k, when off balance it’s fu*king diabolical.” Sensual and spooky, the song accomplishes just that. You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
New Single: Dalia ‘Hanging by a Thread’
New Single: Dalia ‘Hanging by a Thread’ London based singer Dalia is back with the single ‘Hanging by a Thread’ just in time for summer. The track is an exploration of self discovery, realisation, and emotional vulnerability. 13 May 2025 By Natasha Judge Currently Listening to: ‘Hanging By a Thread’ is an experimental track that starts with a voice note, and then weaves this into the song as a motif throughout. Speaking on the tune, Dalia expressed that the track was written “during a period of intense personal turmoil”, as she noted that she was forced to confront repressed emotions. She said: “Hanging By a Thread chronicles the breakdown of a relationship weighed down by unhealed wounds.” The track is a pop ballad that celebrates and recognises the strength in vulnerability and emphasises the empowerment that can come from owning your tears and subsequent emotions. The song was a result of Dalia realising she was still tied to a past relationship whilst with a new love, and the fallout of the unresolved connection. ‘Hanging by a Thread’ unravels her inner monologue of feeling lost, confused and guilty. Musically, the melancholy lyrics juxtapose with the rhythmic base of the tune. There is a build-up of guitar strumming, paired well with percussion to provide an electric feel to the single by the end of the track. This pop track is an excellent portrayal of self-reflection, and coming of age, and the catchy chorus makes us eager to hear more of this new sound from Dalia. Dalia’s tracks would be well suited to fans of Holly Humberstone, Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams. You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
BBC 6 Music Festival Preview: jasmine.4.t
BBC 6 Music Festival Preview: jasmine.4.t If you ever find yourself trying to think of an artist that encapsulates everything The New Age Magazine represents, your mind should jump to Manchester’s jasmine.4.t. 24 March 2025 By Kyle Roczniak Currently Listening to: Despite critical acclaim and recent shows in Texas for SXSW, the artist (real name Jasmine Cruickshank) hasn’t had it easy. With a slow-moving beginning to her music career and an array of barriers in her personal life serving as a constant reminder of the difficulty she faces simply trying to exist as a transgender woman, her debut album ‘You Are The Morning’ released earlier this year feels like a triumph for the queer community, with its themes rooted deeply in trans love and life’s most formative experiences. Ahead of her show at Manchester’s YES for BBC Radio 6’s annual festival, TNAM sat down with Jasmine to talk about her debut album, trans experiences, and the state of the music industry. “It’s been a long time coming,” begins Jasmine, summing up her Boygenius-produced debut album’s recent release. “I could never have dreamed that my debut album would be produced by three Grammy award-winning musicians who are now massive heroes of mine and great friends of mine now too, and to have done that with a massive group of trans and queer artists in LA – it’s too much to even think about sometimes!” “The songs on the record are about the hardest time of my life, going through my transition, and when I was homeless and just heartbroken, and going through a divorce. But also all of these wonderful experiences like finding my chosen family, and falling in love with trans people for the first time, and how healing that experience was.” As timeless as the album is set to be, it feels just as though now is the perfect time for Jasmine’s voice to be listened to, and for her experiences to be taken seriously. “Trans people around the world are so under attack. We’ve had Wes Streeting banning puberty blockers for trans children,” she says, discussing a plethora of anti-trans legislation that is a clear, targeted attack against the community. Despite ‘You Are The Morning’ not being strictly themed around trans identity, the experiences Jasmine writes about are impossible to ignore. “In the public media right now, there’s so much hatred and fear still growing around transness that it’s impossible to not be shouting about it and be like, ‘yeah, I’m a proud trans woman’, even though its terrifying.” With the support of her queer and transgender inclusive chosen family in Manchester, her formative years in Bristol with long-term health problems and a struggle as a closeted trans woman feel a million miles away. But that isn’t to say she still doesn’t face danger. Speaking ahead of appearances at SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Jasmine and her band still face uncertainty when it comes to travelling to share their art. “On on our way back from Texas, we have a stopover in North Carolina, and we’re not allowed to use public bathrooms. And so, we’re just going to have to hold it. And it’s like, we could get put in jail. And if I was going to prison as a trans woman, especially in the US, it’s a death sentence, so many trans men die in men’s prisons in the US. It’s insane and it’s something that’s completely unspoken about.” Our chat with Jasmine is hot on the heels of a campaign against the UK government’s proposed changes to copyright legislation, which would allow AI companies to use copyrighted music freely. “One of the most valuable things about this country is its music. We have incredibly acclaimed musicians emerging every year and we’re a huge part of the the direction of international music – we’re at the at the forefront of it and I don’t think that’s really recognised by the government and it needs to be,” says Jasmine. “It’s just completely impossible to work as an independent artist or on an independent label or anywhere in the music industry without having a second job. Like I work four days a week as a software engineer and that funds my music. I haven’t made any money from my music so far. I probably won’t for a while.” Now 33, Jasmine has been making music since being a teenager and was fortunate to receive monetary support from her parents for that. However, she’s aware of this position of privilege: “There are so many working-class musicians out there who deserve so much more recognition but are completely unable to access the kind of level of visibility that people who have the money to pay for it can like myself. I think that’s just completely unjust and unfair. I think that sort of recognition and support needs to not just be from funding bloodies and charities, but there needs to be massive change to the way our country supports artists. Speaking on the work of the BBC in supporting independent artists, Jasmine explains that even before her transition, BBC Introducing has always been supportive of her work.” I’m actually doing a playlist takeover on the [BBC 6 Music] indie show and I’m able to play some of Manchester’s trans artists as well, which is allowing the community to represent itself, which I think is a really beautiful aspect of it. On playing the station’s festival this month, she shares her excitement to be playing for a hometown crowd, which is set to be a beautiful moment for Jasmine to share with her chosen family in the place she calls home. Jasmine.4.t will be performing at the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Greater Manchester (26th-29th March). Listen to performances across the weekend on 6 Music and BBC Sounds. For festival tickets, visit bbc.co.uk/6musicfestival You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
“I spent so much time in the city and it inevitably has had an influence on who I am and my sound.” Interview with better joy
“I spent so much time in the city and it inevitably has had an influence on who I am and my sound.” Interview with better joy Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing better joy, an exciting rising artist whose distinct alt-pop sound has quickly caught the attention of indie enthusiasts and critics alike. Her music beautifully balances gritty guitars and captivating melodies, elevated by Bria Keely’s honeyed vocals and insightful, vulnerable lyrics. 22 March 2025 Words by Isaac Phelan Currently Listening to: better joy has been described as a roller coaster ride, offering unexpected twists that thrill listeners and defy expectations. With nods from tastemakers at BBC Radio 6 Music, NME, and DIY, she is swiftly emerging as one of the UK’s most anticipated indie breakthroughs. During our conversation, we discussed her new single “quiet thing,” an introspective track highlighting the understated beauty of everyday moments in relationships, perfectly demonstrating her knack for nuanced storytelling set against a backdrop of energetic, intricate instrumentation. Bria, your project better joy launched in late 2023 and quickly gained comparisons to iconic bands such as The Cure and The Smiths, as well as contemporary voices like Phoebe Bridgers. How do you personally relate to these comparisons, and do they influence your creative process? It’s a bit wild that those comparisons happen, to be honest – and if I think about it too much, I get into imposter syndrome territory. It’s flattering that people compare me to those bands and I was listening to a lot of those bands when I started writing music, so it’s cool if those influences have come through in the music. I think vocally, to be compared to someone like Phoebe Bridgers is an honour, I love her so much! Your first release of 2025 was the single ‘waiting on time’. What inspired this track, and why did you choose it as your initial release for this year? I wrote this song with my friend, Michael Champion (Wet Leg, Champs Champs) and my drummer Jamie Ford, and they’re two people who I love working with. We were just jamming in my garage and we came up with the music, didn’t think much of it. Then we just couldn’t stop thinking about the song, so we worked on the lyrics and it developed into something that’s so fun and uplifting. I loved the process of writing this song, and I think it holds happy memories for me – it makes sense that I started my EP campaign with such a positive force. This EP has been a really positive and exciting experience for me, it feels right that we started with ‘waiting on time’, a song about waiting for the right moment. It felt like the right moment to release it. This is a favourite to play live. Growing up in Cheshire, a stone’s throw from Manchester, you have undoubtedly been surrounded by some of the richest musical culture in the world: The Stone Roses, Oasis, Take That, The Chemical Brothers and on and on… Do you often find yourself feeling romantic about your life there, and does that energy bleed into your sound? I spent so much time in the city and it inevitably has had an influence on who I am and my sound. I am very proud to be Northern and proud of the musical history we’ve got. I’m definitely inspired by that Northern grit which is in so much of that music, I think music made in Manchester has a lot of soul and I hope that type of energy bleeds into my sound. View this post on Instagram A post shared by better joy (@betterjoymusic) Your latest single, ‘quiet thing’, explores the understated moments in relationships. Can you discuss how personal experiences shaped the storytelling in this song? So this song was inspired by a conversation I had with a close friend who had recently lost their mum. They were telling me that their relationship with their girlfriend was ‘quiet’ right now, but that it was getting him through that period. It made me think about how we always romanticize the big moments in relationships, when actually sometimes the most romantic moments are the quietest ones. You’ve mentioned the intention behind pairing the sweetness of the lyrics with gritty instrumentation in ‘quiet thing’. What was the creative process behind achieving this musical contrast? I didn’t want to write a ballad, I wanted to write a love song that people could dance to. The gritty guitars naturally make ‘quiet thing’ less ballad-like, and that was our intention when producing the song. Your debut EP, ‘heading into blue’, produced by Mike Hedges, is set for release on March 28th. How did collaborating with Mike, known for his work with artists like The Cure and U2, influence your artistic direction? Working with Mike is still a big pinch-me moment. With everything he’s done, I was a bit in awe of him to start with – and still am! – but he’s the loveliest person to work with, really encouraging and insightful. And his influences had a massive effect on the music. There was a night we were talking about Fender bass amps that were used in some of his Cure records and we were like, we have to bring them into these songs. View this post on Instagram A post shared by better joy (@betterjoymusic) The EP includes previously released tracks ‘waiting on time’, ‘carnival’, and ‘what a day’. How do these tracks collectively set the stage for the overall narrative or emotional arc of the project? They’re a taster of what better joy’s all about. They were all written at that point in my songwriting journey where I was starting to believe in myself as a writer and each song holds a special place in my journey. This EP feels like the first introduction to better joy. Two new tracks, ‘couldn’t run forever’ and ‘can I land the plane?’, are debuting on this
New Single: Josie Oliver “Standstill”
New Single: Josie Oliver “Standstill” For fans of Holly Humberstone, Gracie Abrams and Maisie Peters, Josie Oliver is an artist that should be on your radar. The 22-year-old Midlands-raised singer is quietly but surely making a name for herself in the alternative pop and indie world, and her latest single, Standstill, released on 26th February, does not disappoint. 9 March 2025 Words by Sophie Prior Currently Listening to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyapY-A26tw Standstill is a captivating bedroom-pop ballad with heartfelt lyrics and exciting production. The track opens with Josie’s angelic voice singing the chorus line with lyrics that perfectly encapsulate the song’s message: ‘we’re running out of road, and I don’t want to let you go. So I’ll just sit and hope, we get caught up in a standstill’. Josie explained that the song is about that ‘feeling of knowing you should let go but wanting so badly to just stop in time and savour it’. These confessional and poignant lyrics, combined with layered vocals that firmly place the listener in an electronic and hazy soundscape, make the opening even more of an emotional punch to the stomach and completely draws you in. The rest of the track continues to experiment with this bedroom-pop feel, gradually introducing a steady beat, mellow piano chords, and synth sounds. Josie’s vocals are always at the forefront however, creating the feeling that she is in the room singing to you. Her poignant storytelling is something she has been praised for, including personal co-signs from stars Sam Fender and Griff who found their own love in Josie’s music. The track culminates with an emotional bridge rooted in a soft-rock style with power chords on the electric guitar and a build-up in the drums with the addition of a live kit. I like the ending of the track too, which goes back to the opening melody, but this time with just the singular vocal line and the piano chords. Reverting to the opening nicely frames the track; you’ve been taken on this tumultuous journey full of feeling before being brought back to where it all began – the realisation that you’ve run out of road and need to let go. Although only being 22, Josie has built up a loyal following, establishing over 500,000 streams across four further singles. She is authentic and knows the vision for her music, focusing on her natural talents of meticulous songwriting and confessional storytelling, and on her growing reputation for being a great live performer. Alongside the release of Standstill, Josie announced that her debut EP Listen To This When We Buy A House will be released on 28th March. Get ready! You might also like ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Recent Posts ⋆⭒˚.⋆
New Single: Mumble Tide “Mawpao”
Bristol duo Mumble Tide have released a second single Mawpao, from their debut full-length album Might As Well Play Another One, out on May 1st via Breakfast Records.
The band is formed of main singer and lyricist Gina Leonard and producer Ryan Rogers, who for their previous EPs, were romantically involved. The writing and production of the upcoming debut album coincided with their breakup and transitioning into what they describe as ‘genuine friendship’. The album is a product of this experience, and Breakfast Records describes it as ‘full of heartbreaking storytelling’.
Interview: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ozo).
Image Credit: Emily Marcovecchio The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ozo). 19 September 2024 Last week I had the opportunity to chat with what may well be the future of shoegaze, or as they have coined it ‘doom-gaze’- a moniker which certainly rings true. Fronted by Isle of Wight-born Jess Baker alongside her younger sister Boo, Ugly Ozo explores feminine rage through the lens of supernatural horror. Steadily becoming a regular fixture on the UK live circuit across past 12 months, often seen performing in fairy wings, her debut single comes off the back of a performance at the Isle of Wight festival back in June and notable recent shows with Sunfruits, Hotel Lux, Shelf Lives, The Pill and ELLiS·D. Following on from an initial series of dates with Lauran Hibberd last Autumn, Ugly Ozo will embark on their biggest UK tour to date this September, supporting the indie-pop singer/songwriter across 9 UK concerts. Aside from their musical brilliance and well-deserved attention, our conversation also reveals two women as powerful as the music they create. Words by Isaac Phelan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sffWlIKanDw Ugly Ozo is an intriguing name that suggests something both raw and otherworldly. Can you share the story behind the name and how it represents your music and identity as a duo? ‘Ozo’ came from this story I found about an old guy in Wyoming who met an alien while out hunting, who introduced themselves as ‘Ausso One’ (pronounced like Ozo). I thought it was so weird, and it kind of stuck after that. I feel like it does represent our music in a sense that it’s unusual, and it suggests that there’s a story to be told. How has your relationship as sisters developed into this musical partnership? We’ve always shared similar music tastes, and I definitely inflicted a lot of my inspirations onto Boo growing up. Now she’s older and developed her own tastes, we share so much of it and always want to find new things to be inspired by. I started to encourage Boo to write and contribute ideas towards my own songwriting, and it’s kind of gone from there- she’s like my quality control department. And she writes a sick bassline. Coming from the Isle of Wight, a place with its own unique culture and history, how did your upbringing influence your musical journey and the themes you explore? I think there was never much to do growing up on the Isle of Wight, it’s a very quiet place where not a lot happens. I hated school and left to be homeschooled when I was about 12, and I ended up doing a lot of interest-led stuff for the first year or so. In this time I found how much I loved music and playing guitar, as well as realising my fascination for anything paranormal. For a while I did genuinely believe I was going to be a ufologist when I grew up- to be fair I’d still be up for it one day. I think the two interests just naturally combined over time, and now I’ve accidentally ended up writing songs about Bob Lazar and Area 51. Your music delves into powerful themes like feminine rage, revenge, and the supernatural. What draws you to these themes, and how do they resonate with your personal experiences? I was a victim of SA/rape in 2020 by someone I had been friends with for a long time. It affected my life so much and changed me as a person, and left me with so many emotions I didn’t know how to deal with. When I wrote remains, I didn’t initially know it was going to be about that experience- it ended up just flowing out of me and I found the whole process quite cathartic. I feel like music is such a powerful tool for expressing how you feel without fear, and writing that song has kind of given me something tangible and positive to hold onto coming out of that period of my life. As for the supernatural- I’ve seen ghosts and UFOs since I was a kid, and just find the whole thing so interesting! My friends laugh at me but I think it’s cool. Image Credit: Alia Thomas The supernatural elements in your music add a fascinating layer to your storytelling. How do these themes connect to your overall artistic vision? The supernatural is something I’ve had an affinity with for as long as I can remember, and I feel like ugly ozo wouldn’t be complete without it. I like ugly ozo being presented in a way that is unusual and a bit spooky. I detect an element of post-punk grunge in remains, akin to Daniel Ash’s Bauhaus. How does gothic art rock influence your creative process? I love eerie guitars and things that sound a bit dissonant and dark. When I go to write a song, I usually start with an idea and then go, ‘how can I make this creepier?’. I like my music to feel like the soundtrack to an old Halloween VHS tape. As sisters, how do you navigate the creative process together? Do you have complementary roles, or do you find yourselves challenging each other creatively? I (Jess) do most of the songwriting, and Boo tells me what’s good and what I can do better. She can be savage but I trust her judgement- she’s 5 years younger than me so I need her to keep me relevant. She helped me direct the music video for remains too, and she had some really cool ideas. It’s so fun working with her because she is genuinely my best friend, and we always joke that we share one singular brain cell between us. The blending of alt-rock, grunge, and eerie surf guitars creates a unique sound. How do you go about crafting this blend, and what influences your choice of sonic elements? I was mostly self-taught on guitar and learned everything just by playing songs I love. One of
The Sincerity Behind Esme Emerson’s EP
PHOTO: Nick Ilott (@concrete_state) CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Lydia Cooper The Sincerity Behind Esme Emerson’s EP Big Leap, No Faith, Small Chancer 5 September 2024 Esme Emerson are an up-and-coming indie folk brother-sister duo consisting of Esme Lee-Scott (she/her) and Emerson Lee-Scott (he/they) who hail from Suffolk. They have been performing in various cities across the UK this past year with artists like Keane and The Japanese House. I sat down with the ever-charismatic siblings to talk about their inspirations, sincerity, and their new EP Big Leap, No Faith, Small Chancer. Words by Joyce Lian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-39q5MiLeY Even in the way the pair introduced themselves their synergy is felt. They seamlessly alternate in their introduction, with Esme starting: “We’re Esme Emerson, siblings from–” “–Suffolk. We’re in a band together. We make broadly indie pop music but we draw inspiration from folk and–” “–hyperpop; all the good stuff. We love country… yeehaw.” Before they became the artist duo Esme Emerson, they were two kids making music during term-break music camps. Esme describes these camps: “for the week you write these songs together and then on Thursday they’d let you take the song in their studio to record it, put it on SoundCloud, and then on the Friday perform it to the parents.” And while she acknowledges that her songs were often about “ice cream and zombies,” this experience was not only their first foray into music making, but it also showed them that “‘oh, you don’t have to be an adult to do this like I can just write songs.’” Emerson, being four years older than Esme, had a very different experience, but an equally meaningful one: “I didn’t want to be in a band with my sister but we were like writing adjacent to each other. I think we just have been lovers of music since then and then we started writing together in 2020.” While Emerson’s band of older children would headline for the parent performances, Esme was likely his first and biggest fan; she is now what she calls a “successful youngest sibling,” finally able to join her brother’s band. As a sibling myself, what really struck me was their compatibility with each other. Not only are they able to be close friends, but the way they, as Emerson puts it, seem to “share a brain” contributes to their ability to make music together the way they do. Esme compares the two of them to the fictional siblings Charlie and Lola; when they were younger and the age gap felt more significant, they got along but weren’t the closest. Now, however, she describes themselves as best friends, with the “same tastes” and “same thoughts.” But as far as music goes, their teamwork is nearly supernatural. In an almost telepathic fashion, they can read each other’s minds when it comes to their creative direction. Esme started to realize how in-tune she was with her brother when working with other people: “you explaining something a little bit, or like just knowing what you want, and them being like ‘I don’t understand what you’re saying.’ I was like ‘oh wow, we really share a brain.’” Emerson also attributes their ability to fill in the other’s gaps and to lean on each other’s strengths as a large part of their co-working success. He credits Esme with leading the lyrical writing, which he claims is the “weakest part of [his] musical brain”, while Esme points out that Emerson has “a way with just sounds and textures and music” that she doesn’t. PHOTO: Nick Ilott (@concrete_state) CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Lydia Cooper When discussing their musical inspirations, they immediately jump to shoutout Hovvdy. Along with Hovvdy, Emerson named artists Dreamer Boy, Frost Children, and Roji Sakamoto (Emerson was a Film Composition major in university), while Esme included Dijon and Adrien Lenker. Esme, who is in charge of the more visual aspects of their artistry and paints all of their album art, says that things she watches or reads also inspire her. In general, they appreciate artists whose authenticity shines through in their music, and they try to do the same. Esme Emerson feels the best about their music when they channel their sincerity into their music. Esme says that when she looks back at their music she wants to: “see something really honest of what I was at the time… I don’t want to see something that, like, I made to impress people … I want to see this, like, real art.” And while she derives much of her inspiration from her own life, the duo are able to express their authenticity together because of the joint experiences from their shared childhood. The siblings’ ability to relate to each other’s life experiences plays a large role in the larger motifs of belonging and nostalgia in their music. Adjacent to sincerity, Emerson reveals that “nostalgia is really important, and I think it comes from being siblings, you know, like looking back on our lives together.” Being a diaspora Chinese person myself, I really admire Esme Emerson’s integration of Chinese aesthetics into their artistry. As seen in the photocards they pass out at shows and across their Spotify page, the siblings are photographed standing in their aunt’s house with floral patterned wallpaper and traditional Chinese decor hanging from the walls, evoking retro Chinese aesthetics. Tying back into the theme of sincerity and nostalgia, they felt that their Asian heritage is essential in understanding them as people and artists. As Emerson puts it: “cultural and biracial identity is so core to who we are and our experiences that it wasn’t even really, like, a considered thing like ‘oh, we have to market ourselves like this’… it just was like ‘this makes the most sense for us.’” Overall, their relationship with their cultural identity is complex. Esme shares that while growing up in the very white Suffolk, school “was not a fun time.” This particularly feeds into why it feels “pretty badass to really own it visually and, like, push it to