Marissa Nadler interview: making music and performing strictly on her own terms

  

TOW met Boston guitarist and singer songwriter Marissa Nadler ahead of a show at London's Bush Hall. Armed with guitars and a weighty transistor, she plays solo and after years of struggling with stage fright, she says: 'It's worth getting over it'.

We talk about breaking out on her own with this eponymous album on her Box of Cedar Records, the joy of 'getting' finger-picking right for the first time, her unique sound and, like everyone, having ups and downs along the way.

Unsure about continuing with touring after years of traipsing the globe, Marissa Nadler said she may consider this her last. But then in a tweet after the show at Bush Hall, she says, scrap that - the audience were so lovely, she'll definitely be back. Gotta love London audiences - you guys did good!

Oh, and check out this gorgeous version and free download of Leonard Cohen's Winter Lady which popped up on her soundcloud recently:

  

Brigid Power-Ryce & Micropixie - BBC 6 Music Introducing

Brigid Power-Ryce - The Waves Were Wild
 
   


Brigid Power-Ryce is a TOW success story... back in May 2009 we played Wild Grin for Tom on the show and he loved it, we loved it and then it all went silent. Until we got an email a few months back from Brigid with new songs, a six month old son and a support slot with Tune-Yards and Beirut at Brixton Academy on September 16th - yeeeeha! The  new stuff is as captivating as what we heard before - eerie, haunting and beautiful. See you on the 16th!

*Micropixie - Testosteronica

    
  
Micropixie sent us this little disco-funk gem a few weeks ago, from her album 'The Good, The Beige & The Ugly' (An Intergalactic Feminist Spy Thriller) on One Little Alien. Micropixie has made the track with UK-based, Grammy nominee Paul Horton and it's massively groovy. Micropixie says of herself: 'Made in Bombay, born & raised in the UK, and based in SF-Oh!, Micropixie aka MPX is the extra-terrestrial alter ego of writer, fillum-maker and fulltime human being, Single Beige Female.'

The song is about Micropixie's experiences in the music industry - 'Testosteronica', ah hem, a sentiment that's right up our street! Also, 10% of the sales from Testosteronica will go to Women's Audio Mission, a San Francisco based, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts. Here here!

What's tickling our earbuds in July - part 1

Before TOW heads off on holiday on Saturday here's a run down of the aural delights that have got us hooked this passed month. Yes, it's lazy not to do individual postings but there's just TOO much good stuff out there! So wrap your ears around this very random list of newbies who've sent us a note in recent weeks... Then we'll be shutting up shop until The Other Woman Podcast goes to The Big Chill festival 5-7 August, for our show on Big Chill FM. Can't wait!


Shonen Knife - Perfect Freedom



New from these Osaka rockers from their album Osaka Ramones. Infectious, glorious pop-punk from these girls, they never let you down!

Mary Ocher - On The Streets Of Hard Labour



Thanks to Skopjemusic for the tip off on this one... she's like a Soviet Kate Bush with splashes of the brilliant Frida Hyvonen, this punk/folk poetess used to front Mary and the Baby Cheeses but is now solo.


Micropixie - Alice in Stevie Wonderland

  

Micropixie dropped us a line about her new cover of Sinead O'Connor's Sounds So Different, which you can hear and buy here, but we liked this little mini mix of her debut album Alice In Stevie Wonderland on Soundcloud too... She says of herself: 'Made in Bombay, born & raised in the UK, and based in SF-Oh!, Micropixie aka MPX is the extra-terrestrial alter ego of writer, fillum-maker and fulltime human being, Single Beige Female.'

Hurray for the Riff Raff's Alynda Lee Segarra on new album and tour

  

Hurray for the Riff Raff are the sound of New Orleans' 'new buskers' ie. the young generation of musicians who've come to the city and absorbed the age old musical traditions and added their own modern twist. If you read up about HFTRR online there are stories of frontwoman Alynda Lee Segarra leaving New York at the tender age of 17 and 'hopping freight trains'... not believing Wikipedia on this one we put it to her and fiddle player and drummer Josi and lo and behold - that's exactly what they did. Only in America, hey? Listen in for track snippets from the album and what life could be like in New Orleans... trust us, it sounds dreamy.

Buy the superb record here.

The Other Woman meets London trio Rayographs ahead of the launch of their debut album at Camp Basement

Rayographs are serving up their debut album, Rayographs (Desire), to the public this week, there's a God Don't Like It launch event at Camp Basement on Thursday too (28 April). We've had a sneak preview and love where these three have taken their sound... lots of fantastic melodies, thought-provoking lyrics and an originality which almost made us weep. Hurrah for the Rayographs! TOW met up with Astrud, Amy and Jess in The Horatia pub in north London to have a chat over a pint or two...
   

TOW on 6 Music - Emily and the Woods and The Werewanda's

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:  

 
Emily and the Woods - I Can't

First off TOW just has to say how excited we are that Emily and the Woods has agreed to support Madam at The Horatia on 30 April, we CANNOT wait to see her live! Emily plays guitar and sings, supported by 'The Woods' - ie her Dad, who has been a musician full time for 30 years, and her brother. Emily started playing and writing in her late teens, inspired by a solid roster of folk talent: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkel. A recent Philosophy and Theology graduate from Exeter University, you can hear the influence of her studies in her lyrics... this tune she wrote for a friend who passed away and it gives us goosebumps everytime we hear it.

The Werewanda's - My Little Sister

The Werewandas have a fantastic sense of fun and it comes across in the tight little 60's-infused rock numbers they knock out. Also, TOW is biased as one of our favourite people is in the band - Delia Sparrow from The Lexington, well, you could argue she IS The Lexington and often our Girl About Town on the podcast... she's on guitar and you can hear her doing a fine job backing up 'Heavy Metal Lucy' on vocals...

You can download the debut release from this utterly rocking quintet for free at Where It's At Is Where You Are.

TOW on 6 Music - Clara Engel and Tamara Parsons-Baker

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:

Clara Engel - Lick My Fins

Ok, we realise this track is from her 2009 album Secret Beasts - for all you Clara Engel know-it-alls - but we've just discovered her. How? Well, she sent over an email introducing herself (we love our job) and the resulting listening session went on late into the night. Since this album the Canadian singer-songwriter has released the Bethlehem Tapes too and there's plenty more at her Bandcamp. What a voice, in the same vain as Sharon Van Etten her writing's clever, dark, brooding and often funny (check out her cover of Underworld's Born Slippy) too. 

Tamara Parsons-Baker - Hang My Picture

Tamara Parsons-Baker is a singer-songwriter based in Oxford. Again, her email pinged into our inbox and we really liked what we heard. Simple, beautifully rendered folk songs with an originality in the songwriting which is impressive. Look out for more from Tamara as she's made it to the finals of Channel 4's Live and Unsigned. Good luck, we'll be rootin' for ya!

Best place to listen to her music is at her Facebook page - here

TOW on 6 Music - Mittens and Marina Gallardo

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:


1) Mittens - Deer Park Mirage


This is the title track from Madrid-based Spanish indiepoppers Mittens' debut album released in May of last year. Gotta love that Spanish lilt when they sing in English - so so lovely. Thanks again to Francisco Javier (our portal into everything cool, indie and Spanish - he promises his own blog soon) who sent them over to TOW as a tip. For Spanish indie pop geeks Guillermo Farre is the man behind this project, also known as Wild Honey.


2) Marina Gallardo - Climbing The Walls


Again our thanks go out to Francisco. And then we had a look around saw that Wears The Trousers featured her a while back too. Sheesh, it's hard keeping up with the cool kids! Andalucian native Marina is two album's in and last year released Some Monsters Die And Others Return on Barcelona label Foehn Records. At only a minute and twenty seconds in length, Climbing The Walls is a gentle, mournful lament, which would send even the most tortured insomniac off to sleep.

Kyla La Grange - interview

The Other Woman's Ruth Barnes speaks to Watford singer-songwriter Kyla La Grange about her upcoming debut single Walk Through Walls/ Courage. From open mic nights at university to connecting with a generous producer through Myspace, it's a modern musical success story. However, the weight of the world hangs heavy on her shoulders: "My default mode is a bit sad, I think..." she says, but, "writing music has enabled me to cope with that."

  

Walk Through Walls/ Courage is out on Noir on March 1st.