Howdy! Mariah here! Happy holidays everyone! You know, there’s nothing I love better than Christmas. I love it all; the decorations, the presents, the good food, the steaming mulled wine, but most of all I love the music. Yes that’s right, because every Christmas it gives me the chance to listen to all those classic Christmas pop songs; and the one I love the most? Why of course, my very own All I Want For Christmas Is You! Such a beautiful song, such a wonderful sentiment and another opportunity for me to dress up in a red party dress and dance around the Christmas tree with drunk old Santa. Hopefully there’ll be some mistletoe somewhere and we’ll get the chance for a cheeky kiss as well. He always tries to slip his tongue in - such a naughty old man, but you know, sometimes I let him, because I love him so much. Him and his big old beard. Oooh I could snuggle up to it all day and wrap it round me like a warm woollen scarf. So whilst I cuddle up with Santa, and we make even sweeter music together, why don’t you make sure you’ve purchased a copy of my record and then we can all share the Christmas love. Here it is below…. What? What do you mean ‘this is a new music blog and we can’t have All I Want For Christmas Is You being touted around again?’ YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS. Who the f*ck is this Femme lass? Don’t call me a f*cking diva you asshole. I only agreed to do this so that I could call myself the queen of blogs as well as the queen of Christmas. F*ck you Breaking More Waves. F*ck you Femme. Where’s my manager? I want words… Christmas can f*ck right off. It really f*cking can. Femme - Santa (Be Good To Me) (Video)
Big chorus alert. “You’re my S.O.S, B.A.B.Y baby,” chants Femme on this rather thunderous piece of pop. What was it Meghan Trainor said? Oh yes, it’s all about that bass. Well there’s certainly plenty of arse clenching deep stuff on this one – we’re imagining fit young scantily clad men and women up on podiums ‘in da club’ shaking their thing whilst S.O.S crashes hard through a gigantic f*ck off sound system. This is definitely pop music to play loud. Even better, it’s being released by a rejuvenated ZTT, the people who brought some of the most exciting, adventurous pop music to the 80’s with records by the likes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones and Propaganda. The only question that still needs answering is why isn’t Femme up there with the big pop guns yet? She should be. As far as bangers go, this one’s a juggernaut. Femme - S.O.S
Anyone that has come across Laura Bettinson’s (aka Femme) live shows will know that they’re a hugely enjoyable feast of attitude, Paddington bear hard stares, cool as f*ck cheerleader style dance routines and modern DIY underground pop. They’ll also instantly recognise High, a track formed out of cut up vocals and some heavy bass sounds, the sort of tune that if we were ‘in da club’ would have us grinding and shaking our booty as if we were some sort of cool sex machine. We say ‘as if’ but that ‘as if’ would be in our heads only and nowhere else - the visual reality would be far more hilarious / repulsive / like a drunk dad at a wedding. That reality is probably certainly not what Femme needs for her live shows and is why if she auditioned for more dancers, we’d be strongly advised not to apply, although we're pretty sure we could bust a few good pom pom shakes on stage. Femme - High
When we previewed this year’s Camden Crawl festival here (rebranded as CC14) we suggested that the event had lost its way, falling behind to other multi-gig festivals that had more vision, a greater sense of identity and more ‘must-see’ acts on their bill. Certainly on the Friday of this two-dayer it seemed that our opinion was correct, the lack of crowds in any of the venues showing the lack of support for the event. However, on the Saturday things were noticeably busier, the one day wristbands obviously being the preferred option for most – perhaps if Camden Crawl runs again next year running on just Saturday may make more economic sense? With wristband collected (where we were able to watch 80’s pop crooners ABC soundcheck from the ticket exchange point at Koko) and phone app timetable in hand (which thankfully was a lot better than the events poorly designed website) we swerved in between the tourists taking pictures of Camden punks being used to advertise Doctor Marten boots and grabbed as much live music as our time would allow. Here are 10 things we learnt about Camden Crawl 2014 (A review of sorts). 1. It Isn’t As Good As Brighton’s Great Escape As another multi-day, multi-venue, wristband access festival, comparisons with Brighton’s Escape (the UK’s market leader in terms of this type of event) are inevitable. Certainly in terms of value for money Camden Crawl was some way behind. At Great Escape we saw over 40 acts, at Camden Crawl we witnessed just 16, yet ticket prices for both events were about the same. Whilst both festivals had reasonably good quality in terms of the acts, Great Escape shaded this as well with more must sees, buzz band and overseas bookings. We also witnessed a few organisational problems at Camden Crawl. On Friday the show at The Lock Tavern started half an hour late with no information to inform punters of this - we saw several people walk away and head off to other venues because they weren’t clear what was going on. We also entered two venues (one again being The Lock Tavern) who weren’t properly checking wristbands, leading to quite a few punters watching shows who hadn’t paid for tickets. 2. Being Not As Good As Great Escape Has Some Advantages The lower attendance meant that at no point did we witness any queues to get into venues. One in one out was a phrase that didn’t need to be used. 3. Anneka Could Be The UK’s Answer To Grimes Combining laptop, pads and percussion Brighton’s Anneka (no not the jump-suited sky runner from Treasure Hunt and Challenge Anneka, but a different one) provided one of the more interesting sets of the weekend. An example of how a modern ‘band’ operates Anneka pulled pretty much all of her equipment out of a small rucksack, set up in just a few minutes and created a mix of warped experimental electronic pop that was both innovative and challenging but still laced with pretty melodies. This was D-I-Y pop of our times and rather good it was too. 4. Violet Skies Could Have Won X-Factor Why? Because this Welsh lass has a pretty much flawless voice. Thankfully she hasn’t gone down the ‘this means everything to me, I’ll suck Cowell’s corporate cock for success’ route though. Instead last weekend she played to a small half empty room above a pub in Camden . If there’s any justice she won’t be playing that size of venue for too much longer though. Her slick modern electronic pop would sit comfortably alongside the likes of Jessie Ware and Banks and seems designed for much bigger places, if she can get the exposure. Let’s just hope that Cowell doesn’t get his slimy hands on her first. 5. We're Not Sure What A Hipster Is These Days, But We're Pretty Sure Camden Crawl Was Relatively Hipster Free Silly glasses, perfectly groomed facial hair, retro clothed 20 somethings were notable by their relative absence at Camden Crawl, which seemed to have a slightly older than average demographic than the majority of multi-venue festivals we've attended. Maybe bigger acts like ABC, Atari Teenage Riot and Steve Mason on the bill helped, or maybe because of the lack of 'of the moment bands' the cool kids stayed away? Or maybe it's just Camden itself - once the mecca of young London, now it's just not the got to place for those in the know perhaps? 6. Sometimes Playing Early In The Day Means Hardly Anyone Will Turn Up To See You Arrows of Love faced the near impossible task of playing an early doors set at The Electric Ballroom (one of the larger venues on the Camden Crawl) to a sparse crowd on the Friday night, but they hit it as hard as they could. What Arrows of Love lack in tunes they made up for in sheer physicality, from lead singer Nima’s attempts to create a one man circle pit stumbling/ grabbing / falling / leaning onto selected punters in the crowd, to the band’s Mad Max dragged through a hedge in just their underwear styling. Raw, chaotic and leaving you numb afterwards, Arrows of Love are the vodka and arsenic cocktail of rock and roll. Brutal and sexy at the same time. 7. Sometimes Playing Early In The Day Means Some People Will Turn Up To See You. Relative newcomer Eloise Keating has already featured on Breaking More Waves with her haunting electronic production Be My Ghost. For her reasonably well attended and received early afternoon low-key show in the Camden Eye things were strapped back to just a simple guitar backing and Eloise’s sultry and syrupy voice, demonstrating that Be My Ghost is no one off, although we may have to wait some time before we hear more in the recorded form. 8. Sometimes Playing Early In The Day Means Lots Of People Will Turn Up To See You. 24 hours after Arrows of Love, in the same venue, Dry The River’s brand of heart pumping pastoral folk, including a number of songs from their forthcoming second album, found a big crowd. Perhaps it’s not just about what time you play as to what size of audience you’ll get at a festival then? 9. Sometimes What A Pub Needs Is Pom Poms And Dance Routines Down at the Beatrice (formerly The Wheelbarrow) Femme’s take on sassy day-glo pop was a d-i-y explosion of fun. Imagine Angel Haze, M.I.A, Charli XCX and Gwen Stefani bringing ridiculous energy and booty shaking pom pom punching dancing ladies (The Bullet Girls) to a Camden boozer. By the end we had to get a bucket to catch all of our sweat, if there was a thermometer in the room it would have exploded. Hear Femme's recently released cover of Sophisticated Boom Boom below. 10. Important Chicken Update: There's Not As Much Chicken In Camden As At Shepherd's Bush But There's More Than In Brighton See item 5 and 6 of Bushstock review here, but there's still more than in Brighton. So Camden Crawl beats the Great Escape on that one, but Bushstock wins overall. All in all Camden Crawl was a straightforward and enjoyable event. The lack of queues, the relative closeness of most of the venues and the overall quality of the acts were all in its favour. What it lacked was the crowds in numbers and the 'bands of the moment' to make it feel really exciting. With a few modifications (turning it into a one dayer, reducing the number of venues slightly and a better sense of curation with more must see acts) the Camden Crawl could still be an important date on the UK festival calendar, but for now it still has some catching up to do. Acts seen at Camden Crawl 2014: Paul Orwell & The Night Falls, Voilet Bones, Arrows Of Love, Violet Skies, Anneka, Brolin, D/R/U/G/S, Blair Jollands, Eloise Keating, Japser Mook, Kill Moon, Dry The River, Au Revoir Simone, Femme, Farao, Rainer Femme - Sophisticated Boom Boom
“The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights,” states a quote on the website for International Women’s Day. As part of those collective efforts, yesterday, (which of course was International Women’s Day) a variety of events took place across the world from large rallies to small gatherings. It was interesting to note that of the events recorded on the IWD website the country that had held the most events wasn’t any of those with the biggest populations in the world, but our own country of the UK. In terms of women in music quite a few radio stations marked the occasion in some way (BBC Radio 1 for example only used female DJ's) and some artists themselves acts got on the case and recorded and uploaded songs, celebrating or drawing attention to the day. The song that we think had the best sentiment was Femme’s cover of Respect by Aretha Franklin, which of course was originally recorded by Otis Redding, and had a somewhat different meaning, the word ‘respect’ in that case being a euphemism. Yet it was Aretha’s version that became the hit, a signature anthem for feminism and one of the greatest songs of all time. So here’s Femme’s take on it, which keeps reasonably faithful to the original in terms of melody but with a more modern electronic pop vibe. If you haven’t heard of Femme before then why not find out more and listen to some of her own material (here) which we posted in the middle of the night during our 24 hour Blogathon event earlier this year. We are very pleased to confirm that between this blog and Alphabet Bands blog we raised just over £1,500 for Cancer Research in finishing the Blogathon. R.E.S.P.E.C.T is a free download for the time being and we're hoping that Barack Obama has been listening, because then he might learn how to spell the word after his mistake a day or so ago. Femme - R.E.S.P.E.C.T
The UK M.I.A? The new Charli XCX? Robyn version 2.0? The modern version of Amazulu? (OK that last one might be a bit obscure for younger readers). Whatever your reference point is one thing is for sure, Femme is bloody brilliant. This is thoroughly modern pop brought to you by South London based producer and vocalist Laura Bettinson a Goldsmiths graduate who has already been involved in a broad church of projects including UltraÃsta, the band formed by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and drummer Joey Waronker as well as eccentric electronic pop act Dimbleby & Capper. However it’s with Femme that we really feel Laura has found her space. The songs she’s making are a little bit left of centre but with fantastic hooks and snappy lyrics. “I’m looking at the girl in the Afghan Coat and wondering if she’s naked underneath,” is our favourite. The sound of Femme is all candy rhymes, booty shaking bass lines, cool for school raps, candyfloss computerisations, cartoon hooks, sassy self-belief and just a hell of a lot of fun. With 2 double A Sides Educated /Double Trouble and Fever Boy / Heartbeat (on 12” heart shaped vinyl) already out there Femme has got our attention. Now it’s time that she got yours. Femme - Heartbeat
Femme - Fever Boy
This blog post is one of a series published as part of Breaking More Waves non-stop 24 hour Blogathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK. If you have read this post and enjoyed it or the music we’d really appreciate it if you would donate £2 to Cancer Research using the button below.
