Miya Folick - Deadbody (Live on KEXP)

This is Miya Folick performing 'Deadbody' as part of her KEXP session in May 2019.

You can watch Miya's full live set for Paper Sessions as part of Primavera Sound 2019 here.

Fantasy Festival number 19: The Lineup

Myrkur: Danish singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Amalie Bruun began her musical career in the Scandinavian black metal scene. Her releases as Myrkur have their origins less in the contemporary metal scene and much more in Danish mythology, traditional folk music and classical music. You can find out more here.

Sudan Archives: LA Violinist, vocalist and producer Brittney Denise Parks, aka Sudan Archives, describes her musical influences as "Sudanese fiddlers, R&B, West African rhythms, and experimental electronic music." You can find out more over on her Bandcamp.

K Flay: Illinois singer, songwriter, rapper and musician Kristine Meredith Flaherty makes indie flavoured, hip hop influenced lo fi pop music. She has released three albums, the most recent being 2019's Solutions. You can find out more here.

Miya Folick: LA singer and songwriter Miya Folick released her debut album, Premonitions, in 2018. She makes evocative ethereal indie soundscapes (see 'God Is A Woman'), ferociously angry indie rock anthems (such as 'Deadbody') and isn't averse to a bit of slinky dance pop ('Leave The Party'). Album number two, when it arrives, should be a treat. You can find out more here.

Japanese Breakfast: Oregon's Michelle Zauner began working under the name Japanese Breakfast in about 2014, having previously served an apprenticeship in a number of indie pop and emo bands. She has released two albums of energetic, often dreamy, indie pop. You can find out more here.

Vagabon: New York singer, songwriter, musician and producer Laetitia Tamko was one of the artists who featured in 2017's Fantasy Festival series, not long after I'd singularly failed to see her at Dot To Dot Festival. At the time, her music was very much in the indie noise rock vein but, since then, she's gone in a more atmospherically electro direction, as demonstrated by her self titled second album, released in 2019. You can find out more here.

MIA: Rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, visual artist, activist, Maya Arulpragasam is a modern legend, perhaps best immortalised in 2018's documentary film Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. One of the things that has always made her such an exciting artist is the way she has been fearless in taking and mixing up multiple genres of music, from the more obvious electro and hip hop to Tamil film music and alternative rock. She built a hit single ('Paper Planes') around the opening moments of The Clash's 'Straight To Hell', infamously collaborated with Madonna and Nicki Minaj, and the promo video to 'Bad Girls' featured some particularly hair raising driving techniques. You can find her on Insta.

Lizzo: Singer, rapper, songwriter and flutist Melissa Viviane Jefferson, aka Lizzo, has been making music since 2013, but it was her third album, last years Cuz I Love You, that tipped her into the mainstream. Her roots are in hip hop and electro soul, but her music also has a strong R&B element to it and the overall sound is gloriously pop. 'Juice' was on every music station for most of last summer it felt like, and the success of the album also led to the re-discovery of her 2016 single 'Good as hell'. You can find her on Insta.

Miya Folick - Leave The Party (Official Audio)

A highlight from 2018's Premonitions, 'Leave The Party' is a full on dance floor slink. As we're full on out of dance floors at the moment, do feel free to have a slink around your accommodation to it instead. Given it's a song about fight or flight and, after all, leaving the party, that feels massively appropriate to be honest.

Premonitions was my second favourite album of 2018, second only to Florence + The Machine's High As Hope. If Miya Folick (judging from 'Leave The Party') is a stay at home kind of girl, High As Hope (especially 'No Choir') suggested Florence Welch probably is as well. And just because you're staying in doesn't mean you can't have a bit of a dance.

Songs of the year, number 13: Miya Folick - Malibu Barbie

Following on from last years excellent debut album, Premonitions, 'Malibu Barbie' sees an evolution in  Miya's songwriting, with the bite of a song such as 'Deadbody' being tempered by elegant melodies and intricate but quiet guitar work. There's a subtlety here, but at the same time, she hasn't lost any of her anger. Album number two will be a treat I think.

Songs of the year: Number 4

In many ways, 'Deadbody' was the perfect anthem for the #MeToo era. It seemed to be about everything that that particular movement was fighting against.

Folick's rage is apparent from the start, but it's a thoroughly controlled performance, albeit one with a blistering delivery. She has been equipped with a voice that can travel to the higher octaves and bewitch just as she has been given the gift of roaring with the best of them and, in this case, she is choosing to roar. It's an exhilarating listen.

End of year roundup: Music

Welcome to part two of this years end of year roundup!

Today we're covering music.

Favourite breaking artist of the year:

Miya Folick

Premonitions was surely the most casually announced debut album ever? But when you've been quietly releasing songs as strong as 'God is a woman', 'Talking with strangers' and 'Deadbody' for the past year and a bit, you can afford to be confident. Folick is going to be a stealth artist I think, creeping up on people...

Favourite video of the year

Laura Gibson, 'Domestication'

There's some subtle Handmaid's Tale stuff going on in this video... Making it very timely as well as very powerful.

Favourite gig of the year

Florence + The Machine, Manchester Arena, 23 November

As discussed previously, I didn't write a gig review, I wrote a fan essay instead. If you'd like to read a proper review, you can do so here. 

Artist to watch in 2019

Suzi Wu

One of this years BBC Introducing alumni, and a sharply acerbic artist with great attitude and beats. Worth keeping an eye on if 'Taken Care Of' and 'Teenage Witch' are anything to go by. 

Albums of the year

10) Guttfull, Tits and Nails
9) Virginmarys, Northern Sun Sessions
8) She Makes War, Brace For Impact
7) Emma Back, Little World
6) Tami Neilson, Sassafrass
5) Santigold, I don’t want: The Goldfire Sessions
4) Tancred, Nightstand
3) Let’s Eat Grandma, I’m All Ears
2) Miya Folick, Premonitions
1) Florence + The Machine, High As Hope


Songs of the year will follow in separate posts, starting tomorrow...

Spooky (but not in a Halloween sense) playlist compiling

This month's F-Word Music blog post is now up on the site. Because we are well into the period I like to think of as Peak Touring (new university term, end of year lists pending, Christmas wish lists being compiled...) there has been an awful lot of stuff to cram in this time. 

By comparison, the playlist was pretty easy and came together almost immediately. I think I had to move, maybe, two songs around and that was it, it was done.

It was when I was listening to it back that I realised how very apt a lot of the songs are in terms of the past year. A lot are very pertinent to the #MeToo era and, most recently, the Kavanagh appointment in the US. I feel as though I've been stockpiling these songs in my mind, and in my Spotify lists, just waiting for the right moment to put them all together. 

Some are from new artists, some are from established artists. Some were recorded for major labels, some were self released. But what they all seem to share is a kind of conscious or unconscious commentary on the state of womanhood and the world in 2018. 

I'm really pleased that so many artists have tapped into their inner rage this year. It would be nice to live in a utopian world, or at least a more restful one, but that seems remote and, as with all art, music reflects that. And provides a source of inspiration and solace in a fucked up world.

Image is the cover image for Laura Gibson's new album Goners. It is out now. 

New F-Word music playlist now up!

The latest F-Word music playlist is now up on the site!

As I hand the music section back to Jo Whitehead in July, this will (probably?) be my last music playlist for the site.

As such, I had intended to go out with a bit of a bang, playlist wise, and didn't really have any other ideas or themes aside from that. Oh, apart from a thought that festival season is nearly upon us and, as such, maybe it would be nice to include that cover version of Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock'.

Then, as I was working away putting the tracks together in Spotify (the Miya Folick version of 'Woodstock' did make the grade, you may or may not be interested to know), I realised that, quite unconsciously, a theme had developed.

It was all about youth and being young.

As I say in my post over on the site:

I've tried to include songs by artists at, or near, the start of their careers as this felt like a good way of getting a sense of freshness and, on occasion, rage as well as innovation. I'd been doing this, to an extent, anyway in that I'd been trying out a lot of new songs by new artists, but I also realised that I'd been adding in songs from more established artists from the beginning of their careers, and that this worked well with the new stuff.

I'm really pleased with how it all worked out and, unlike February's playlist, there is a bit more light with the shade this time.

You can read the blog post, and listen to the playlist, on the F-Word website.

Endings are as important as beginnings with playlists and, quite early on, I knew two things:

1) I wanted to make a feature of/draw attention to Let's Eat Grandma and their excellent track 'Falling Into Me' because it felt like the most exciting thing I'd heard in ages.

2) I wanted to finish with Florence + The Machine's 'Dog Days Are Over' because it would be a good way to get a big finish and, besides, reflected the position of the song in their live set (if you discount the encores that is).

Not sure if 'Dog Days Are Over' will remain in the same place, set wise, as F+TM head out for their live dates this year, but I can't imagine them not playing it.

For an example of the joy that is 'Dog Days...' live, check out this clip from Bonneroo in 2011:

The Sunday's track was originally going to be 'Here's Where The Story Ends', for a similar sense of closure, but it didn't work as well as I expected so it got switched for my favourite Sundays song 'Can't Be Sure' instead.

Let's Eat Grandma are also out on the road this summer, and are playing some festivals. There isn't a video for 'Falling Into Me' but the video for 'It's Not Just Me' is out now and I have been enjoying their video for 'Sax In The City' recently.

End of year list with a difference

I thought I'd try taking a departure from the usual end of year lists format this year, having not done one since 2014 because:

A.) Florence + The Machine would have won everything in 2015, and that would have made for a pretty repetitive blog post

B.) 2016 was such a weird year it required a different approach.

So, 2017... 

I remember writing in my diary at the end of 2015 'Well, thank God that's over' or words to that effect, little knowing the horrors 2016 would bring, and indeed, 2017...

One last thing:

Because I didn't do a list in 2016, the rule I'm working to is: If it was released in 2017, or if it was released in 2016 but I didn't hear it until 2017 then it's OK to include it. 

Favourite article of the year to write (By me): Women and music festivals, again (The F-Word)

Perhaps this is a little misleading... It wasn't so much a case of 'enjoying' it as being gripped by a hurricane that wouldn't let me go until I'd finished it, 48 hours later. And it led to a whole series of posts on here as well, plus 7 fantasy festival bills I'd like to see.

Expect to read more on this issue, and related issues, in 2018.

Favourite article of the year (Not by me): What I learned from a year of dumpster diving in Australia (Medium)

You will be staggered by this... really staggered, and possibly inspired as well.

Favourite tattoo of the year: This one from The Studio in Manchester

Such a collision of difference reference points, and no one else will have one like it. Genius.

Favourite disclaimer of the year: Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Duke of York Theatre, London

Favourite foul mouthed ear worm of the year:

A tie between St Vincent's 'New York' and Peking Duk/Icona Pop's 'Let You Down', both of which feature copious and enthusiastic use of the f word.


Favourite anti-Donald Trump song of the year:

Grace Mitchell 'Kids (Ain't Alright)' did it for me in the end, conveying as it does a real sense of bewilderment and 'What the fuck just happened?!'. That said, favourable mention (obviously) goes to Arcade Fire and Mavis Staples for 'I Give You Power', which they had the foresight to release on inauguration day.


Favourite double edged single of the year:

Natasha Kmeto, 'Pour Down/Free For Tonight'

Side A: Full on rainbow coloured lust on the dance floor

Side B: An equally killer dance anthem but with the underlying razorblade in the floss that it was a song pointing to the fragility of LGBTQI spaces

Favourite breaking artist of the year:

Overcoats.

The New York duo more than punched above their weight this year, with an impeccable debut album and strong singles. Their tours in the US are now headliner tours and are getting longer and longer. Let's hope we see them in the UK soon.

Most fully realised psychogeographic album of the year:

EMA, Exile in the outer ring

A dystopian postcard from the US mid west. 

Most eerily prescient album of the year:

This is a tie between Kate Tempest's Let Them Eat Chaos and Father John Misty's Pure Comedy. The former hinted, in various ways, at a number of societal factors that were all about to converge in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, whereas the latter clearly signposted the warning signs of a US that had just elected Trump president.


Favourite video of the year:

Georgia, 'Feel It'

Favourite 'Where the hell did that come from?!?' album of the year:

Kelly Lee Owens, Kelly Lee Owens, as signposted by Piccadilly Records.


Favourite gig of the year:

A tie between Gothic Tropic at The Castle Hotel as part of the Manchester leg of Dot To Dot, 26th May 2017 and Honeyblood at Gorilla, 21st December 2017 (review currently in progress, stymied by Christmas...)

Band to watch in 2018:

Pearl City

They provided strong support to Honeyblood at Gorilla on 21st December and are a Manchester duo who used to be known as Bernard & Edith and now appear to have renamed themselves after a mancunian Chinese restaurant. They sound a bit like Kate Bush fronting a dark wave band... Am expecting good things. 'Flames' is out now.

Albums of the year:

15) Wolf Alice, Visions Of A Life
14) Jesca Hoop, Memories Are Now
13) Bully, Losing
12) Rews, Pyro
11) Pink Milk, Purple
10) Zola Jesus, Okovi
9) Kelly Lee Owens, Kelly Lee Owens
8) Noga Erez, Off The Radar
7) Honeyblood, Babes Never Die
6) Wild Ones, Mirror Touch
5) Helen McCookerybook, The Sea
4) Gothic Tropic, Fast or Feast
3) St Vincent, MASSEDUCTION
2) Overcoats, Young
1) XX, I See You 

Songs of the year:

I have made a Spotify playlist of these songs, but Helen McCookerybook's most recent album is not available on Spotify so I have included a link to the song on YouTube instead.

20) Grace Mitchell, 'French Becky'
19) Halsey and Lauren Jauregui, 'Strangers'
18) London Grammar, 'Truth Is A Beautiful Thing'
17) Rews, 'Miss you in the dark'
16) Daughter, 'Burn It Down'
15) Beth Ditto, 'Savoir Faire'
14) Wolf Alice, 'Beautifully Unconventional'
13) Bipolar Sunshine, 'The Scientist'
12) Noga Erez, 'Noisy'
11) Georgia, 'Feel It'
10) Honeyblood, 'Sea Hearts'
9) Lorde, 'Liability'
8) Wild Ones, 'Parathesia'
7) Helen McCookerybook, 'Big Brother'
6) XX, 'Replica'
5) Overcoats, 'Nighttime Hunger'
4) Gothic Tropic, 'Stronger'
3) Natasha Kmeto, 'Pour Down'
2) St Vincent, 'Los Ageless'
1) Miya Folick, 'God Is A Woman'

Miya Folick - God Is A Woman - Live at London Calling

Along with Daughter's 'Burn It Down', this is my current song that I'm obsessed with. On 'God Is A Woman' we find Miya in a brooding, contemplative mood and, as such, this song isn't as guitar orientated as most of her work, or as angry/self lacerating.  It's a bit of a quiet recording, but it's also the only clip of 'God is a woman' that there is on YouTube so 'twill have to do.

'God Is A Woman' is available through Spotify and other streaming sites though, if you want to follow up by listening to the excellent recorded version

"Talking With Strangers", Miya Folick - Brighton, Mai 2017

A live version of Miya Folick performing in Brighton in May 2017.

You can watch Miya's performance at Fomo Fest in Los Angeles from 2016 online. 

Fantasy Festival #3: The Modern Classics Festival - Lineup

Skating Polly: Skating Polly are a teenage sister duo from Oklahoma, comprised of the fantastically named Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse. They formed in 2009 and have been taken under the wing of  Babes In Toyland (who took Skating Polly on tour with them a couple of years back) and more recently Nina Gordon and Louise Post of Veruca Salt. They make visceral, sometimes angry, sometimes eerie and unsettling guitar driven punk rock in the grunge tradition.

Miya Folick: Miya Folick is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter who comes from an acting background and makes slightly otherworldly indie rock. She has the kind of voice that can quite literally stop you in your tracks, and you can read an interview with her in Vogue, of all places, from last year. 

Emma Pollock: Legend of the Glasgow music scene, co-founder of Chemikal Underground records, and a former Delgado, Emma Pollock is flying solo these days. Her music is experimental and pared down, making use of strings as much as guitars, understated and stylish. Her current album, In Search of Harperfield, was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year award in June.

Emmy The Great: Musician and culture writer, Anglo-Chinese Emmy The Great grew up in East Grinstead, and has been making music since 2006. I hesitate to call her a bedroom folk artist, because I've never felt it to be much of a compliment, but I do see her as someone who creates amazing sonic landscapes largely independently much like Nancy Elizabeth. Her album, Mahal Kita, is out now.

Jesca Hoop: Former Mormon, former nanny to Tom Waits' children, and persuaded to decamp from the US to distinctly unsunny Manchester by a certain Guy Garvey. It was always going to be an intriguing backstory, even before Jesca Hoop started to release records. Memories Are Now, her fourth album, was released last year. She is electrifying live, almost Shamanic. She played Latitude on 16th July, and continues to tour and play festivals throughout the summer.

Laura Mvula: I really loved Laura Mvula's debut album, Sing To The Moon, and, while I couldn't get into the follow up, The Dreaming Room, I was still shocked to hear that Sony had dropped her (by email!) earlier this year. Even if The Dreaming Room wasn't my cup of tea, musically, I respected it as a record because it was experimental and new, and was a strong departure from the debut album, which had it's roots in jazz, blues, and soul. Laura is touring at the moment, and into Autumn, so there are plenty of chances to see her live.

Martha Wainwright: Martha Wainwright has been releasing records from 2005 onwards, and her music has taken a number of differing musical twists and turns along the way, from the bloody minded folky j'accuse of 'Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole' to the slinky soul groove of the more recent 'Take The Reins'. She is currently on the Canadian and US leg of her tour.

PJ Harvey: Polly Jean Harvey has been making music since the early 1990s and, as you would expect, her music has evolved and changed considerably in the past (nearly) thirty years, as has her singing voice. In recent years she has been reinventing the protest song and the radio ballad, and has diversified into poetry and broadcasting. One thing Harvey has never lost is her integrity, and her approach to music in recent years has reflected that.

Miya Folick - Talking with Strangers (HQ)

Miya Folick was featured on the Spotify playlist for Dot to Dot, but wasn't scheduled to play at the Manchester leg of it. As with Kelsey Lu, she has a fantastic voice, and some really strong songs, of which this is one. Well worth keeping an eye out for. Instinct suggests she will also be amazing live.