"To The Moon and Back": Imelda May [Interview]

Interview originally carried out in 2009 by Imran Mirza from Liberation Frequency

With a career gathering more momentum as time passes by, Dublin’s very own Imelda May brought 2008 to a triumphant close, and is set to build on that success – in greater bounds – for 2009. Having developed and honed her craft for live performances from a young age, May’s career highlights currently range from being the recipient of the Irish Music Awards’ Best Newcomer title, appearing at Glastonbury, Cornbury, Innocent and Chiswick House Festivals, opening for Van Morrison, performing at the Royal Albert Hall, touring with Jools Holland, even appearing on the latter’s ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, as well as fronting her own tour in support of new album, ‘Love Tattoo’.

Inspired by jazz legends, Billie Holliday and Dinah Washington, May was as much inspired by the people around her, all of which she believes helped to shape her musically, “I worked with really great musicians, and they say you should work with musicians better than yourself because you eventually pull yourself up to a good standard, and I did do that when I was young as much as I could”.

Having had a natural talent that was nurtured by her family from a young age, May spent much of her childhood singing, and had been gracing the stage at blues clubs and pubs since 16 years old.  Initially avoiding ‘centre-stage’, opting to sing for other people’s bands, it wasn’t long before she developed the courage and self-belief to pull musicians together for her own project, “I got such itchy feet and I was feeling very, very creative and I needed to do something with that, so I asked the guys, who were different musicians from different bands and they said ‘yeah definitely’ … and it just worked”.  May further described the chemistry between the band members Steve Rushton (drums), Dave Priseman (trumpet), Darrel Higham (guitar) and Al Gare (double bass), “It just seemed to snap in to place very quickly and then I knew I had done the right thing”.

Billed as a jazz, blues and rockabilly artist, May is adept at skipping elegantly between these genres and styles of music, and capturing the incredible essence of each.  Throughout the songs presented on ‘Love Tattoo’, May’s unique ability to completely capture her listener’s attention is really what takes centre stage on this release – if she wants you to dance, the undeniable infectious rhythm of the opening number, ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’, will make you dance; and, if she wants to lure your imagination to the smoky blues club ambience of songs like ‘Knock 123’ or the beautifully written ‘Meet You At The Moon’, then that’s exactly the power that May’s capable of, and will effortlessly use to do with you what she will.

We’re looking at the same moon,
Though we’re miles apart;
We’re wishing on the same star,
When you’re deep in my heart;
I don’t know if you know,
But when we miss each other so,
Look up, I’ll meet you at the moon

Confidently, May assures us that these array of styles was something planned all along, “I kinda knew what I wanted it to sound like – I had gigged the songs as well so I was happy with how they had come out.  It was obviously a mixture of influences that I had – the blues influence, the jazz influence, and of course the rockabilly influence, which I had from an early age ...  When I went into the studio, I wanted it to sound as simple as possible.  I thought, if we could just grab the energy of it, then we’d be flying, and it seemed to work.”

It has been said that luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet.  So, already having all the necessary tools to reach luminary status would tick the ‘preparation’ box, all May needed was the perfect ‘opportunity’, which would go on to present itself with ‘Later… With Jools Holland’.  Responsible for being a launching pad for credible musicians, Imelda May joins the list of artists that have benefited from the Jools Holland stamp of approval, “I think Natalie Cole was supposed to be on, and got ill, and he got us, we got a call saying we’d be on in two days.  We all screamed, so that was fantastic, and thanks to him, I owe him a huge amount”.

May’s 2009 currently has ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’ securing regular spins on Radio 2’s playlist, a tour schedule that sees her playing 27 dates through February and early-March, and the hope to return to the studio for ‘Love Tattoo’s’ follow-up in May.  Imelda May’s incomparable style and genuine artistry makes her an incredible talent to watch bloom through 2009 and for many years to follow.

'Eclectic Blue' by Eclectic Blue [Review]

Eclectic Blue have just delivered their self-titled debut album leaping into 2016 with an exciting and fresh blend of independent R&B/soul.  Producer, Jae London, who helms the project and has assembled the expansive collective of musicians and singers involved, has made the album an early standout for the year and an album you’d be doing yourself a disservice to pass up.

Ever since the group’s cover of the Luther Vandross classic ‘Give Me The Reason’ appeared in the inboxes of DJs and journalists amidst a mysterious puff of smoke, 15th January 2015 (followed by ‘Sunshine’ the month afterwards), with no ready-made explanation on the web of who ‘Eclectic Blue’ actually were, excitement quietly built for a full-length release which has now come just under a year later.

Although it’s taken the time it has for the album to have seen the light of day, ‘Sunshine’ was exactly the type of song that would have fans (im)patiently waiting for more: the sublime horn-layered production accompanied by the vocals of Chris Turner proved to be the perfect appetizer for what was to follow.  The album is packed with many of London’s long-term friends and collaborators including Turner, who also appears on the vast majority of the album’s songs, along with additional vocals throughout by the excellent Kimberly Marshall, equally shining any time she’s featured.  There should also be a lot of excitement to see the immensely talented Saunders Sermons appearing on the jazzy ‘Neo Soul’ and the interlude ‘Tyneshia’s Melody’.  Famed trombonist Corey King appears on the album as does saxophonist Kenneth Whalum… it genuinely is an album brimming with talent.

Standouts throughout the album include, naturally, the aforementioned ‘Sunshine’ and ‘Neo Soul’, as well as ‘Eclectic Blue’, ‘Love Has Come Around’, ‘Paradise Indigo’ and the brilliant back-and-forth between Turner and Marshall on ‘Please Be Kind and Rewind’.

If you’re a fan of the music here, make sure you check out Jae London’s The Discovery Album (released in 2010) as well, which features Chris Turner, Saunders Sermons and Kimberly Marshall along with other singers and many of the Eclectic Blue musicians delivering another stellar range of excellent R&B and soul.

R.I.P. David Bowie [1947-2016]

We were met with the sad news this week about the passing of iconic pop & rock artist, David Bowie, following an 18-month battle with cancer.

Bowie’s career spanned six decades and he released 27 studio albums.  Although primarily considered a pop & rock artist, he was a huge proponent for black music, famously defending its absence in a discussion on MTV in 1982 and incorporating elements of jazz into many of his own recordings.

As fans, when a musician leaves us, we seek the solace that only their music can provide in that time.  When John Lennon passed, the world turned to ‘Imagine’; for Michael Jackson it was ‘Man in the Mirror’; For Bowie however, fans have the release of his ‘Blackstar’ album – an album realized during his cancer diagnosis and which has subsequently been deemed his parting gift to his fans.  An incredible testimonial revealing, as suggested by CNN, “a man grappling with his own mortality”.

Bowie was everything he was professed to be: an innovator, a pioneer, an icon, an artist.  His legacy is infinite as his music and his influence has impacted countless generations – a feat that will continue with his death.

I’ll leave you with a couple of songs to mark his impact on me: the new song and video, 'Lazarus', from the new Blackstar album, and my absolute favourite of his songs – the Nile Rodgers produced ‘Modern Love’.

What I'm listening to... (January 2016)

Happy New Year all!  All of our extensive 2015 wrap-up posts are all now complete so let's kick things back into gear with a few things that have caught my attention and were not 2015 related...

'Hello' by Andy Allo
Our last one of these articles (November 2015) featured a cover of Adele's new song as sang by Joe, which is exceptional, but another has now surfaced that's totally grabbed our attention and it's by Andy Allo.  She very much makes this version her own - with a nice sprinkle of (90s) R&B thrown into the production.  If you're not completely tired of having heard Adele sing this "a thousand times" [see what happened there?] then this version is definitely worth a listen.  Click that download link too!




'Norwegian Wood' by Cecilia Stalin & Khari Cabral Simmons
I had waited a while now to hear the follow-up to Khari Cabral Simmons' debut album, 'Clementine Sun', and this has definitely been worth the wait... 'The Story of Love' sees the bassist and producer hook up with Swedish soul vocalist, Cecilia Stalin, for this 4-track gem of an EP, available from Bandcamp.  There's no weak spots here so let's go with their cover of The Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood'...

'Jazz in Motion' by Yusef Rumperfield
Heavy on the use of samples and hip-hop influences, this broken beat jazz record makes for a dreamy and hugely enjoyable listen.   Audio samples are a little scarce so visit the Bandcamp page to get a real feel for what the album's all about.  You won't be sorry.