Yesterday was a battle. The fun part of creating things is the creation period itself – those months of graft, just you and the laptop, working hand-in-hand making an idea blossom. It all gets a bit tedious and aggravating when it’s time to release that work, sort out the fine details and sort out that dreaded small print. I’ve been writing books for the last two years and now two of them are ready for the world but I’m not ready for the hassle getting them out entails. It’s endless…. the phone-calls, emails, pricing prints, arrangements, compromises. They are creations that have been made over the course of hundreds of days and it’s always nerve-wracking releasing them. My job is done but it’s not yet done until they are out in the hands of who wants them – sometimes it felt like they would never be done.
Soon there will be two books circulating around. These were books I spent countless hours writing and editing – it will be so great to call them complete and move on to the next phase, finally. Life is hard, people sometimes don’t respect the process but tend to just see a finished product in front of them and say ‘awh cool, that’s great, next.‘ The process is long…. so long… so beautiful…. so lonely… you are alone in the creation phase…. everyone is. I like this feeling weirdly enough and love writing which has me so excited about the future – it’s my thing and these two books are only the beginning. I’m back into the shed in October for book three.
I was chatting to Floyd Lavine yesterday in an interview about this exact thing, about creating and the processes involved. He told me it’s all about patience. He reiterated over and over and over that one word. Patience. He is right!
Things take time and it’s important to give your art time and space to breath and develop. Sometimes it’s infuriating and challenging but focusing on the beauty and point of why you are doing it is crucial throughout.
Here is episode 40 of The ‘Post’ Lockdown Mixtape. This is where my monologues meet music – this is where that lockdown energy filtered into during those mad eighteen months and beyond. This is my most cherished feature on this website.
Will Pope / Stormy Seas
I discovered the music of London’s Will Pope around an hour ago and have already blasted through his entire debut album ‘Burying Giants‘ on Soundcloud. His music is wonderfully pure – the falsetto crisp. His tone always totally on point, every note sung with care. Stormy Seas was my first taste and it had me saying ‘wow‘ under my breath as the whimsical guitar chimed and the vocals rippled. A sound so pure, Pope’s sound doesn’t need long to fester before it ends up perched on the top of your playlists.
We launched Community Sessions on Sunday and Will Pope is sure to receive and invite to perform in the coming months. What a talent and a high grade debut album.
Abbreviations / Turn on You
I’ve been saying it all year, this year is one of the richest years in living history in terms of finding new music. Trouble is, without SubmitHub streamlining all my submissions, it would be impossible to find all these hidden gems. Today’s music climate is geared towards Spotify pitching us what they want to pitch and new music tends to fall away and get forgotten if it fails to achieve an official Spotify playlist placing. Abbreviations are a band releasing their debut album this year and I’m so glad their music came my way. I mean, just listen to this! It’s special.
Another amazing bunch of thirty-somethings releasing their 2021 debut. A totally epic year for music discovery, especially those returning to music again after a long hiatus – this band is one of my favourite recent finds.
Dope Lemon / Stingray Pete
This is one for Sienna. If I can manage to get her an interview with Angus Stone I think she will physically combust with excitement. I’ll try.
Dope Lemon, Angus’s solo project, is totally wonderful and Stingray Pete is his latest track. It’s got a spaghetti Western vibe, it’s cool and it’s certainly catchy. Been humming this to myself all week on the train. That guitar solo at the end is something eh? Interview please? Please?
Eden Rain / Being Human
Eden Rain is a new one on the UK circuit and she’s quality. Leeds born but London based now, this talented newcomer is going to be doing big things in the coming months. The sound is polished and all the correct elements are found in the correct places. Reminds me of the high standard output of Genevieve Stokes and Nia Wynn. One to watch and I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye here. Top early signs.
Alita Limona / Jealous Mermaid
Radicalis are one of my favourite labels as they always seem to come up with the goods. Alita Limona is their latest find and I’m in love with the subtlety of the beatwork here. Throwback sounding melancholy where the vocal sample takes centre stage. It’s like Rob Dougan meets Weekend Wolves meets Kicktracks – a blend that really hit the mark this afternoon. It’s short but certainly does enough to stick. Alita is a talented Berlin based LoFi producer and painter in case you wanted to know more. Fab.
About ‘The Sound Sniffer’
The Sound Sniffer is a music blog that’s still only a baby – Founded in early 2019 by Kevin Coakley, a music writer and ghostwriter. ‘The Sound Sniffer’ also runs gigs and showcases in London since Oct 2019. The showcases are picked from artists found in the blog’s submission inbox.
Check out my Interviews HERE
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