5 Minutes With........ LoneLady
The Manchester music scene of yesteryear seemed to be very simple. Sound like Oasis and you'll be successful. Nowadays however, bands and musicians from the city are changing the musical landscape of Manchester. One of those musicians is Julie Campbell otherwise known as LoneLady whose retro pop is at the forefront of this change.
I asked her a few questions about the city itself, and her latest album Hinterland.
What bands, songs or albums inspired you to start making music?
JC: I grew up as a kid listening to loads of chart pop; I think this
catchy sensibility has stayed with me; REM (early REM in particular) was my
first obsession; I thought Michael Stipe was arty and intriguing..but my
main love was and probably still is post-punk. Buying a Tascam 4-track
cassette recorder was really key in terms of how I started to write and record
music.
You have quite a distinctive style of music, do you think it's important to have an identity?
JC: Of
course. It can't be forced though; it ought to develop naturally; longevity
over gimmick.
You're from Manchester and very proud of that. It's been said that you wander around the city picking up ambient sounds via Dictaphone. Has the city been a key influence when you write songs?
JC: I wouldn't say I was
proud especially..its my home, that's all. I
have occasionally done that, but it hasn't been a big part of my process. It's
more to do with an instinctive wandering that gradually turned into a kind of
ritualistic behaviour and fed into the song-writing. Hinterland is a deeply psychogeographic record; every song on there has
an urban or interior landscape as its subject matter.. You don't have to travel
far from the centre of the city to find find pockets of wastelands, dilapidated
buildings, curious moments and details hidden behind the ordinary facades and
I don't see this dereliction as a negative or sad, I find it all very
playful all this fed into Hinterland.
In an interview with The Telegraph you stated that you feel deep respect for Joy Division and Gang of Four. Why these two bands in particular?
JC: 'Deep respect' sounds a bit lofty...but
I'm big fan of both, sure...Andy Gill has been a huge influence on my
guitar playing, and Martin Hannet's production has definitely had a lasting
impact on me; Joy Division and Manchester's landscape seem one and the same;
intensely ambient, haunted and violent.
Who are your favourite up and coming bands from in around Manchester?
JC: I've been touring for a year so pretty out of the loop. However
I really like Vanishing, who had a release on Telsa Tapes.
What song/s do you enjoy playing live the most?
JC: With four live musicians on-stage, LoneLady live has become more of a
kinetic, energised experience, both for us, and judging by the reaction,
for audiences too. All the groove-oriented songs off Hinterland have translated
well; I always like to start with 'Into The Cave' as it feels instinctively
really natural; a murky, inviting groove to kick things off..There's now an
extended 'dance' version of Hinterland which we've been closing the set with,
making Hinterland a 10-minute sort of 'goodbye, so -long' workout; that feels
cool too.
Why do you think Manchester seems to produce such a diverse range of musical talent?
JC: It seems structured to generate a kind
of murky, restlessness ...I like how Paul Morley describes its geography as
having the moors 'looming just at the edge of vision.' I find it easy
to project a kind of violent, gothic romanticism onto the Manchester
landscape .I don't think that answers your question particularly.
Is there any song that you wished you had written?
JC: Lots. I Listened to Bill Nelson's 'Stay Young' the other day and wished
I'd written that.
Catch LoneLady perform 'Into The Cave'
Visit LoneLady's tumblr: http://concrete-retreat.tumblr.com/
Visit LoneLady's Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lonelady
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LoneLady/?fref=ts
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