Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - We Talked Again (Video)

The first time we saw the new crowd funded video for Bridie Jackson & The Arbour's song We Talked Again we were incredibly tired and had spent some time away from those we love the most. Watching this didn't help matters one iota - tearjerking would be the operative word. 

Thankfully with a good sleep behind us things seemed a little less emotionally devastating and instead we were able to focus on the video's interpretation of the song - that of the need for human warmth and bringing people together, in this case by way of a dramatic emergency; although the lyrics could be interpreted around the idea of two people in a broken relationship where as Bridie sings 'the ice came'. Whatever your reading of the lyrics, there's no doubt that the film is a beautiful and raw piece of visual work that perfectly accompanies the surging cello and strings, delicate bell plates and Bridie's haunting vocal.

If you have kids we advise not watching it when you're feeling run down or tired. You'll probably blub. 

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - We Talked Again (Video)

The Great Escape Festival 2014 - Review (Part 3)

It was the third day of Brighton’s Great Escape Festival and once more Breaking More Waves took to its streets amongst shoppers, tourists, clubbers and the occasional hen and stag party for a non-stop day of live music, clocking in a whopping 42 acts full performances over the course of the whole festival.

Here’s ten more things we learnt: (You can find the other things we learnt here and here)

1. Bridie Jackson of Bridie Jackson & The Arbour likes to keep it old school.

Keeping it real, the golden toned Bridie Jackson had a Filofax on stage for her lunchtime performance at the Komedia. We assume that this had the set list written on it, but maybe when she wasn’t providing note perfect renditions of songs such as We Talked Again and Prolong she was actually looking at a shopping list for all the clothes she was going to buy down The Lanes boutique shops later?

2. The Great Escape involves spending a lot of time in basement venues.

And due to lack of wi-fi this meant that often if we wanted to live tweet from the gig we had to resort to old fashioned text tweeting, if there was a signal at all. Brighton’s Audio won however, as it has public access wi-fi.

3. Our new favourite discovery of the festival was Meanwhile.

From starting his set eagerly jumping up and down in the audience as his three-piece band began to play, to his finishing stride out through the crowd, the man known only as Meanwhile became our new favourite discovery. Here was a man who fizzled with charismatic / camp booty and hip shaking energy and a blast of Prince like electro-funk grooves, plus songs that were both intriguing and infectious. Despite suffering from the dreaded ‘technical hitches’ he knew how to impress. His debut track Luvletta streams below.

4. Sometimes just when you don’t expect that much from a band, you get a lot more.

Having already seen Fickle Friends three times this year we suspected that gig complacency might set in for ourselves, after all there’s only so many times you can see a band play the same songs isn’t there? Plus the gig was in The Mesmerist, a pub with no stage. It didn’t bode well. However we were proven completely wrong, the bands summery effervescent blend of indie pop sparkling bright, bringing natural highs, big smiles and dancing. Lead vocalist Natassja admitted that she was enjoying the show more than the previous night’s one at the Green Door Store, even although the band had been up partying most of the night. 

5. Half hour sets are the perfect length.

Nearly every gig at Great Escape was half an hour long. This was the perfect length. Not too long that new bands would struggle with material, but also perfect for more established bands who could ditch the filler and just play the killer. It’s also the ideal length for attention spans, allowing the audience to get enough, but probably leaving them wanting that tiny bit more.

6. Gig venues at festivals like this need to have food stalls.

How else are we going to be able to zip from venue to venue without pit stopping elsewhere for refuelling and potentially missing the opportunity to see more live music? So we’re not asking much are we? Just a food stall and wi-fi in every venue please. Thanks.

7. Salt Ashes is more than quite good.

With pulsing dark disco electronics and throbbing beats Brighton’s own Salt Ashes knows how to make sexy pop music. This we already knew. But Great Escape gave her the opportunity to show that she could also do it live. She delivered. Unlike many other pop acts there was no guide or backing vocal, for Salt Ashes voice is so note perfect that she didn’t need it. Add to that a composed and commanding stage presence and this lady showed that she means business.

8. Indie rock is the lifeblood of Great Escape Festival.

Whilst there was pop, dance, folk and a small amount of hip-hop, indie rock was the dominant genre of Great Escape. One of our favourite bands within this genre was Blessa. With chiming, anxious, noisy and claustrophobic guitar work juxtaposed with dreamy female vocals the Sheffield band brought an old fashioned indie sound bang up to date in the Komedia Studio.

9. We thought the only band to ever wear shorts and get away with it was Carter USM.

But Olly Alexander, lead singer of Years and Years proved us wrong in the Corn Exchange with shorts, a baseball shirt and cap. We saw several girls swooning. Black clad skinny jeaned indie boys take note. Can you imagine The Horrors in shorts? That might be a giggle.

10. The Great Escape is a must visit for any fan of new music. It also represents excellent value.

An early bird ticket was just £39.50 plus a small booking fee. We saw 42 acts, the majority of them being above average quality. You do the maths. 

See you there next year?

Bands Seen On Saturday: Bridie Jackson & The Arbour, Codes, Meanwhile, Jake Isaac, Fickle Friends, Robyn Sherwell, Years And Years, French For Rabbits, Young Summer, Blessa, George Barnett, Salt Ashes, Hannah Georgas

And finally, here are the important statistics:

Number Of Artists Full Performances Seen In Total: 42

Number Of Hours Sleep: 14.5 ( An average of 4.8 hours / day)

Fatigue Factor: Surprisingly awake

Hugs From Artists: 5

Number Of Music Bloggers Randomly Bumped Into: 8

Meanwhile - Luvetta

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - We Talked Again

With the 2014 Glastonbury Emerging Talent competition final just a couple of weeks away, today we’re delighted to welcome last year’s winners Bridie Jackson & The Arbour back into the fold. We Talked Again is the band’s first single to be released from their forthcoming album New Skin. 

The label ‘eagerly anticipated’ is often thrown around when a band ready themselves to release new material, but certainly this is a record that has been the subject of much impatience in Breaking More Waves HQ.

We Talked Again will already be familiar to existing fans as an earlier take of the song can be found on their Bitter Lullabies LP and a live recording on their Prolong single. This is a totally reworked version though - a bold and expressive piece of music that manages to bring an almost chest thumping stir with its cellos, strings and choral harmonies one moment and then attain a beautiful lullaby intimacy the next through its use of bell chimes, piano and Bridie’s magical vocal. It’s not often we throw around words like unique, but this is getting pretty damn close to it. Imagine this played in a candle lit chapel; that would be pretty special.

Extra marks to the band as well for wearing proper boots that look like they’ve seen some life in their photo shoot. Bridie Jackson & The Arbour are girls after our own heart.

Put it in your diaries now - We Talked Again is released on the 7th April. The band are also out on tour, full dates are here.

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - We Talked Again

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - Please Forgive Me My Human Ways (Roxby's Wonky Remix)

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour melted a fair few hearts with their Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition performance a few weeks ago and bagged themselves a slot on the Acoustic Stage at this year’s festival.

Although the band themselves may or may not be maestros of the dance floor boogie, their name isn’t one you’d associate with being ‘in da club’ really is it? Maybe in some warped other-world Bridie hangs out with David Guetta or Skrillex, just next to where we’re writhing about semi-naked in a foamy hot tub with Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on a terrace in an expensive minimalist architect designed villa halfway up a mountain. But this is the internet and the internet is real life isn’t it? We’ll let you decide on that one.

But there’s some new music (of sorts) out there and it’s a bit of a surprise, it’s a remix. Taking the marvellous Please Forgive Me My Human Ways, an acapella track from the band's long player Bitter Lullabies, we were expecting a travesty. Bridie Jackson’s sound is arguably not one to be messed with, its purity and sparseness in danger of becoming soiled by adding anything at all.

But wait, this remix works. Why? Because it doesn’t take the obvious route of adding some glitchy beats and of the moment samples, but instead develops the original giving it an electro-blues feel. It’s not the sound of being in a club but the heavy night gone wrong walk home afterwards.

You can buy it from Bandcamp here, alongside the original and a live version of their song Mucky for less than the price of a pint of beer (or possibly even a half if you live in London). Bargain.

Bridie Jackson & The Arbour - Please Forgive Me My Human Ways (Roxby's Wonky Remix)

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour - Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition Winners 2013

Last night sometime around 7pm Breaking More Waves tweeted from a Somerset working mens club the following words: “Just fallen in love with the sparse beauty of @BridieJackson1 at the @GlastoFest Emerging Talent Competition.” 4 hours later after 7 further performances from artists that ranged from a 15 year old dreadlocked rapper to a Brighton via France danceable twee indie trio, our adoration was confirmed by the judging panel of this year’s live final and the four-piece won a coveted spot on one of the main stages at the most famous music festival in the world.

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour were fully deserved winners. Despite being first to perform and much of the audience still making their way into the venue they became Newcastle's Uri Gellers of music, hypnotising with their  wonderfully stark songs formed from perfect vocal harmonies, cello, violin, piano and acoustic guitar. With no exaggeration, if we were to die tomorrow we’d be happy to pass away with the knowledge that we’d had the pleasure to witness Bridie’s voice live, a thing of subtle yet powerful loveliness. Did we melt a little? No, not just a little - completely.

We’re not sure what it is about the North East of England, but there’s something up there that makes us want to jump in a car and go and immerse ourselves in the music from the region. They just seem to get things right. From The Unthanks and The Cornshed Sisters - bands that Bridie Jackson and the Arbour share a certain closeness to in terms of their melancholy sound, sense of space and pitch perfect vocal harmonisations, to other Breaking More Waves Northumbrian favourites such as Let’s Buy Happiness and Lanterns On The Lake; whatever is going on up there has a habit of making us fall head over heels in love over and over again.

Listen to the band’s version of Scarecrow, written by their friend Louis Barrabas, below. It's a stunning tale from the grave that is haunting, gothic and quite simply one of the best songs we’ve heard this year, no question.

You can buy this and more material from Bridie Jackson here.

For some some great photos of the 2013 live final click here (see if you can spot Breaking More Waves in the audience shot)

Congratulations to the band, yesterday was Bridie's birthday so winning was a very special present from Worthy Farm.

Bridie Jackson and the Arbour - Scarecrow