FIFTY3FRIDAYS: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN?

How many people does it take to write a song? This question struck me while watching highlights from The Oscars on Monday. It was prompted by KPop Demon Hunters winning Best Original Song with “Golden”, to add to its gong for Best Animated Feature. At least six out of the seven people credited with writing the song, including singer EJAE, seemed to turn up on stage to receive the award. Maybe one of them could have collected Sean Penn’s for him, while at it.

Headline photo by Craig Pattenaude

Multiple songwriting credits are mercifully pretty much absent from the independent music scene. The classic singer-songwriter pens their own songs while the time-honoured collaboration of composer and lyricist still endures, especially in a band context. Yet in the major label arena, quite why it takes so many writers and what each does exactly somewhat mystifies me. While “Golden” is something of an earworm in the S-Club tradition and my six-year-old granddaughter loves singing along with it, multiple songwriting credits invariably equate with overblown mediocracy. Too many cooks and all that.

Back in the real world, a drawback of not living quite as close to London as I did when in Kingston is that I can’t get to as many gigs as I would like. A case in point is the Sound Lounge in Sutton which hosted a double bill of Hannah Scott and James Hodder on 12 March, ahead of Hannah’s single release on Friday 13th (yes, it’s that date again!) From a musical and artistic household, Suffolk-native Hannah Scott has put a strong marker down as a singer, musician and writer of highly relatable songs over a career spanning some 15 years. On the live stage she connects her audience with her warmth and intimacy.

Hannah has a new EP in the works, Threads, due in June and has shared an enticing taster in the shape of “In Your Light.” She revealed that this song was written at the time as a gift for her mum’s 50th birthday as she couldn't afford to buy her a present at the time. There is an added poignancy to the story as “In Your Light” has finally seen the recorded light some 16 years later. Hannah presents her paean to her mother with tenderness and grace, thanking her for teaching her how to feel, how to create and to be proud of the path in life she chose to take. All is delivered by Hannah’s graceful vocals; silky yet with an inner steel.

Hannah Scott’s gigging partner at last week’s show was Kent-based troubadour James Hodder. The singer-songwriter-guitarist brings strands of folk, country and Americana together in a pleasing melange. Vocally rich, he has an authentic ring with a Springsteen-like rasp at times which sits well with his bittersweet storytelling. His live work includes a string of UK festival dates with consecutive appearances at Black Deer and Maverick Festival among them. James’ online footprint isn’t the longest so that’s about it for an intro. I came across this song which I hope will give you the flavour of James Hodder’s music. “I Don’t Know How To Quit” is from Lucky, a 5-track EP released by James in December.

We met Dear People, the solo project of Brighton-based Becky Green just two weeks ago via the shimmering beauty of her single, “I Don’t Know”, which was voted a Fresh Fave by Fresh On The Net readers a week earlier.  The song is one of four tracks which makes up her eponymous debut EP which is out today. Announcing this, Becky commented: “It seems that we've timed this perfectly with the arrival of spring and so I truly hope that you can soak in these songs while you soak in some sunshine and recharge from the long winter.” You can find Dear People on Spotify and all the usual digital platforms. Here is another lovely taster from the EP: “Somebody (nearly).”

Next, on to my two Fresh On The Net Alt Picks from last weekend. First up is a lovely dose of dream pop from Lunar Isles, aka David Skimming, who recently returned to his native Scotland after living in South Korea for some years. A multi-instrumentalist who creates hazy indie pop using a bedroom DIY approach, David is now looking to build on the dreamy collection of sounds he developed in the far east. With an upcoming album, After Dark, due next month he has developed a more electronic sound and is planning to bring Lunar Isles to live UK audiences.

Previewing the forthcoming album, “Second Chances” blends Lunar Isles' signature dreamy indie-pop sound with further electronic elements. The aura of the Land of the Morning Calm seems to be infused in the gentle circular melodies David layers onto this gauzy synth and guitar woven piece. Lyrically minimalist, he seems to be hoping rather than banking on a second chance. The simple forlorn vocal refrain repeats throughout the song creating an ethereal, emotional vibe in what is contrastingly quite a danceable track.

My second Alt Pick was from AIMING, like Dear People another act with an EP released today, this entitled Sail & Wreck. The duo of David and Jordan announces itself on Bandcamp as 'scuzzy synthy shoewave from Yorkshire' wryly adding 'better than it sounds.' Well, from what I’ve heard, the York pairing sounds pretty good to me. The EP was written and recorded last year in the band’s home studio in York, built around vintage synths, classic drum machines and vast, reverb-soaked guitars and exploring flawed relationships, nostalgia and the quiet fear of becoming trapped in the same places, both emotionally and geographically, long after you intended to leave.

From the EP, “First At The Accident” deals with living through the collapse of a relationship without knowing how to navigate it. Warm synth textures are blended with dramatic bass notes and reverb-soaked guitars while the measured vocal carries the raw depth of a confessional, referencing personal stuff about a relationship fallout in a series of vivid metaphors. “It's about quiet disillusionment, intimacy under strain and the fatigue of trying to believe in repair when you're already standing in the wreckage” the duo explains.  

And [to close] now for something completely different as they used to say in Monty Python. Having swung today from one song with seven writers to artists producing most of it on their own, let’s end on a pop note and, what’s more, largely the product of a collaboration of just two writers. I really like the new Harry Styles album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally, not least for his use of punctuation in the instructive title. Harry’s BBC Radio 1 Live lounge session is definitely worth catching while his opening at the Brit Awards earlier this month was a simply awesome Bowie-like combination of sound and vision. That cheeky smile at the end spoke volumes too. So, unashamedly here is “Aperture”, open for all.