Words In The Earth

On reviewing Telamonia's track Salt In My Eyes , the lead single from the Here's To Death EP, I was taken aback by the abnormal soundscapes that were created, but revelled in the delightfully dark nature that was exposed from a simple trap beat structure. It made me eager to hear the EP from which it was taken, and how the track would mould itself into the context of the project. The one thing Salt In My Eyes perhaps didn't purvey so much was the personality and thematic sense that Telamonia has aimed for, but with Here's To Death this is resolved completely. The EP maintains much of Telamonia's experimental and warped sonic palette, for the most part sounding as if Aphex Twin had decided to dabble in trap. However, what it also does is bring to the fore the dark lyrical themes of emotional pain, mental health issues and substance abuse. It approaches these topics in an often stark and very raw fashion, and it gives Telamonia's musical creations a whole other de...

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of reviewing Take A Deep Breath , the debut album from UK chillout project A Better Life. It's a wonderful album full of transformative soundscapes designed to evoke relaxation, but the thing that stood out most for me was the emotion and individual touch that seemed to emanate from these songs. It stands to reason then that A Better Life's founder Phil Daniels has a very personal reason for creating music with such blissful tones. The collective is multi-faceted, involving a host of talented instrumentalists and two stunning vocalists that help bring the songs to life; but at its heart is Phil and his innately creative mind. In this interview I aimed to get a deeper understanding of his connection to the music, his influences and inspirations, and the process of putting together a collective that can still produce such beautiful and intimate music in the midst of a global pandemic  Tell us about your musical history before A Better Life, and ...

Musical artistry manifests itself in different ways in each creator, and the idea always that less is more isn't an adage that should hold universal truth. In fact, it takes a particularly special type of artist to really make minimalism flourish, and Autumn Dawn Leader is one of those artists. That isn't to say her music is simple, not by a long stretch, but her music does put it's focus on to one key element; namely her voice. Because, while I, Autumnus is an album full of beautiful folk-indebted tunes and emotional lyrics, it wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful without Autumn Dawn Leader's remarkable vocal talents. Originally from the USA, but having spent the last fifteen years or so based in the UK, Autumn Dawn Leader has a wealth of experience behind her as both a singer-songwriter of her own compositions, and as a lead vocalist fronting bands performing other people's songs. That experience shows throughout I, Autumnus as while all of these songs, bar o...