A few years ago when Alice Jemima was asked who she ideally wanted to work with or produce her LP she took only a moment to think about her answer before boldly stating “Jamie XX”. Whilst Alice’s wish hasn’t come true (yet) there’s no doubt that there’s a big dollop of influence from The XX on the sound of So, the second track on her second EP and the first to be released through a record label (Sunday Best) rather than self-released. For people who were introduced to Alice by way of Liquorice, So represents a different side of her musical output. If Liquorice was Alice’s daydream pop record then So is its midnight musical cousin that takes you dancing all through the night. “You got me feeling wow, and that’s all I want right now,” she sings as the intricate beats, skeletal song structure and that voice bring on the goosebumps again. Fact: The 4 songs on the forthcoming EP are all flawless – every one of them could have been the lead track. Go and pre-order it by clicking here for the vinyl, then go and see her play her first London headline show, next week at the Sebright Arms on the 15th June, you can grab tickets here. Oh and if anyone knows Jamie XX, get him to get in contact with Alice Jemima. I'm sure she wouldn't mind him knocking out a remix of this track. Alice Jemima - So
In my email in box, the following odd word and letters: Diseasey and IILWMBF. The email sent from myself to myself. I do this sometimes when I’ve heard a song but have no time to investigate further at that moment in time. It's been sitting there a while to be honest, but the part-time blogger's in box is fundamentally just a graveyard of the unread. A quick Google search tells me that the songs are by the band Sälen. They are Ellie Kamio, Paul Taylor Wade and Simon Milner. Simon is also a member of the group Is Tropical, who I wrote about in what seems like a thousand years ago. The band explain Diseasey on their Soundcloud as follows: “This is a song to soundtrack the bad decisions that felt so right at the time, one for anybody who has found themselves in an awkward lust-driven situation and is left asking both themselves and their new pal, why am I in bed with you?” Let's face it we've all been there and someone has probably also thought it of you. What they don’t explain is that despite the slightly disturbing lyrics such as “I’m into your sickness,” Diseasey is a weirdly infectious leftfield pop song – the sort of track I can imagine cool Hoxton hipsters ‘digging’ (is Hoxton still cool? I have no idea) but also your regular pop fan enjoying when they’re having a bit of an edgy day and fancy listening to something that isn't in the charts. Likewise the decent but not quite as good IILWMYBF (yes it stands for I’m In Love With My Best Friend), which you can find by clicking on this link. It was released about half a year ago and continues the exploration of odd love, although to be fair, there’s a strong argument that your true love should also be your best friend, so maybe it's not so odd after all? Sälen - Diseasey
Now in its sixth year, West London's Bushstock has now become an automatic slot in my diary. Put together by the team behind independent record label and promoter Communion, this one day festival sells itself on both the strength of line up and the relaxed and easy going nature of the event. Starting off as primarily a 'new folk' affair, Bushstock has diversified to embrace a wider perspective of music that includes styles such as pop, soul and indie. Whilst every year there are some bigger names at the top of the bill - this year Bear's Den (hear their new single by clicking here) and the upwardly rising / Breaking More Waves favourite Shura (her new single is here) - for me one of the main thrills of Bushstock is being able to catch some exciting emerging talent lower down the bill. In previous years I've watched the likes of George Ezra and Jack Garratt play early afternoon sets and convert plenty of new fans in the event's centre piece venue St Stephen's Church, still on the rise Bastille perform to just a handful of punters in the Defector's Weld pub and Layla (one half of Oh Wonder) charm a small crowd in the Sinndercombe Social before she went on to bigger and better things. For 2016 there's an abundance of quality on the festival's undercard. Here are my 5 ones to watch of the newcomers, all carefully selected to ensure there are no clashes. Joseph J Jones (14:00 – St Stephen’s Church) I featured Joseph J Jones on just the previous blog post (click here), so no introduction should really be needed, but just in case you missed it, he's a former boxer turned crooner with a rather lovely soulful tone. That should be perfect for St Stephen’s church. (Tip for the church – if you’re planning on staying there to see more than 1 act, take a cushion, the seats are very hard!). Shells (15:00 – St Stephen’s Church) Singer and producer Sarah Sheldrake aka Shells recently wowed the blogosphere with her debut track Gold and it's easy to see why. A perfect match of emotive cello,violin and electronics it was a flawless start. With an EP to follow in September, Bushstock will be the first opportunity for music lovers to see what Shells is all about.
Seramic (16:00 – St Stephen’s Church) Another act that's taken the blogs by a storm, Seramic is the project of Marcus Foster, a singer who is no stranger to Bushstock having played the festival under his own name in 2012. Having already witnessed Seramic at The Great Escape festival in Brighton a few weeks ago, I'm eager to experience him again. Raw and from the heart, his music is a mix of big gospel voices, hard-riffing guitars like Prince used to do and soul by the bucket load.
Rationale (21:00 Bush Hall) Rationale, like Seramic is another 'new' act from the past. In fact I wrote about Tinashe way back in 2010 (here) when he was banging out songs that had some soul but also messed around with clattering scrappy indie sounds reminiscent of Jamie T and Vampire Weekend. Now his sound is slicker, more soulful and it's already earned him a slot on Later....with Jools Holland. His debut album follows later this year.
Vant (21:45 – Defector’s Weld) Raucous indie rock group Vant will probably demolish the rather small Defector's Weld. You're advised to wear your health and safety gear as they bring the noise, but with some decent songs too.
Bushstock takes place on the 18th June 2016. The final tickets are available from this link. Be quick though, it nearly always sells out.
It seems entirely appropriate to post about this new artist today, given the death of Muhammed Ali, the world’s greatest boxer, a man who also possessed a strong social conscience. The reason is that Joseph J. Jones, a man who looks like he's stepped out of a fifties or sixties movie, is a former boxer, but unlike Ali he’s now become a musician.
A couple of his songs have been floating around on the internet for some time now, with a handful of tastemaker and music industry connected blogs posting about him back in 2015, but he only came to my attention the other day whilst examining the line up for this year’s Bushstock festival – always a fantastic place to catch emerging talent - I'll be previewing that fairly soon. The chances are Jones is probably new to most readers of Breaking More Waves; despite the small burst of internet coverage, he's hardly a household name, with under 1000 plays on Spotify and Soundcloud. Jones, who originates from Hornchurch in Essex, cites his main influences as Johnny Cash, Kanye West and West Ham United, and has spent time working with songwriter and producer Richard Frenneaux (who some of you may remember from the band Red Light company). His debut track The Video, a gutsy piano ballad, is halfway between a stirring blues anthem and a m-o-r pop belter that finds him singing of ‘real life, real lows, nothing like the video.’ It’s powerful without ever becoming overly bombastic and suggests that he’s as well suited to pulling musical punches as he was ones in the ring. Joseph J Jones - The Video
