ANGHARAD - Natalie Gray - The Bablers - Georgia Mooney
ANGHARAD is an artist and songwriter with fire, passion and unflinching honesty at the core of all her music. The first single from her debut solo album had to be ‘Because I Am A Woman’, a confident and positive ‘call to arms’.
As ANGHARAD explains: “‘Because I Am A Woman’ was written as a response to the widely accepted beliefs in the music industry that it’s not possible to be a mother and have a successful career.
I received some hostile reactions myself when I announced that I was pregnant. I was told that I was unambitious and that I was no longer serious about following a career in music. These outdated, sexist attitudes need to change.
This is a call to arms to any woman who has experienced similar attitudes and expressing the need to stand up for change. Rather than getting angry about it, this song says “yes we can!” And “yes, we are capable of anything!” I believe it is possible to have both, and do both well, when society will allow us.
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The Me I Pretend To Be is the latest single from Synth-Pop artist Natalie Gray. Grabbing inspiration from some of Natalie’s favourite artists such as Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, as well as more recent artists such as Paramore, Kings Elliot and Lawrence, this song embodies the desperation of losing yourself and hiding behind a smile and a cliche whilst it feels that your world could crumble at any second.
Following the success of Natalie’s previous single “Fire” supported by BBC introducing, The Me I Pretend To Be steps away from her usual upbeat and colourful sound and brings a more honest and nostalgic feel, touching on the reality of living with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, a theme that a lot of us can relate to. This latest track is Natalie’s first time opening up about her own personal experience with living with PTSD and struggling to find her old self.
Instead of reaching for your hairbrush and throwing your best 80s dance moves infront of the mirror, The Me I Pretend To Be will have you opening your old photo albums and coming face to face with your own demons.
Natalie has teamed up once again with childhood friend and personal agony aunt Jack Craig, (the producer behind “Dance Floor” and “One In A Million”) to create this vulnerable and heart string grabbing song.
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Bablers founder, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arto Tamminen – who's led the band, now alongside Janne Haavisto (drums, vocals), Pekka Gröhn (bass, keyboards, vocals), and Hannu Pikkarainen (guitar, vocals) since its late '70s genesis – tells us about the track and how it difers from the boisterous guitar pop of the two prior single. “It's built to be a classic big piano pop ballad, the kind you've rarely heard since the golden days of pop.” And that's exactly what “Mr. King” delivers: intimate, intense, bold, confdent, and powerful, the tune has a million dollar melody that sticks in your mind, and a timeless message. As with all of the tracks from the LIKE THE FIRST TIME sessions, the song is played 100% live with original instruments: upright piano, electric guitar, bass and drums. The band’s sound is glued together, tight yet fexible, and the take heard here has a magic and a mood you can almost touch. It makes you listen, demanding attention that will be rewarded.
Tamminen lays out the backstory behind the emotive lyrics, ofering insight into the choice to release the song as the English monarchy – and so much of the world – enters a new era. “It’s been a long day. A lot of public activities. Horses and soldiers. Roaring audiences. Applause. Flags. Smiling faces,” explains Arto. “Finally, at the castle, someone is knocking at the door. It's troubadour asking permission to sing a song, crafted especially for the occasion. Permission is granted. He starts to sing, and in the chorus asks the most important question...”
Both the deft handling of the subject matter and the richness of the music mark a true change of pace after the previous two singles from The Bablers. That versatility won't surprise longtime fans or anyone who's heard the band's thrillingly eclectic and lovingly crafted 2021 Big Stir Records album PSYCHADILLY CIRCUS. But it's all too rare to hear a new work of this depth and purity of sound on the radio these days, and that alone is reason to celebrate another triumph from THE BABLERS, who are rapidly ascending to the throne they have long deserved: the Kings of Finnish Guitar Pop, and royalty on the global stage as well.
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Pulling inspiration from the theatrical sounds of ABBA and Rufus Wainwright, ‘Break It Off’ is pure high drama, a melodramatic and shamelessly camp take on infatuation ending in pain, fuelled by desperate yearning and stubborn sentimentality.
Georgia Mooney shares “it is about being powerless to somebody’s charms. When a relationship is terribly bad for you, but the infatuation is overwhelming. When you’re not receiving enough in return, there is a desperation that the person will have a miraculous epiphany and realise they’re actually madly in love. There is an inability to let go of that hope, to the extent where the only option is to be dumped ruthlessly!” Mooney’s celestial vocals dance above luscious layers of instrumentation: gentle piano, a 70s-esque synth, and shimmering strings, all buoyed by bass and shuffling drums reminiscent of classic 60s pop.
The ‘Break It Off’ video sees a dazzling 80s-worthy collaboration with Eora-founded aerobics queens Retrosweat. Devised as “if Pat Benatar made an instructional workout video”, Georgia Mooney sings as a portrait on the wall of a beautiful, surreal set that the trio of dancers perform in. As well as being wonderfully theatrical, it’s also the avenue through which Mooney presents an ode to one of her greatest loves - Benedict Cumberbach. She shares, “It is no secret that I have something of a celebrity crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. I do not suffer from celebrity worship syndrome in general, nor do I ever get star struck, I cannot explain the spell that was cast on me when first I clapped eyes and ears on Cumberbatch. Surely something to do with the rather lovely, clever-sounding accent and the period costume attire…When I wrote the lyric “you’re not a patch on Benedict Cumberbatch”, I gave myself the rest of the day off.”
Georgia Mooney's upcoming debut album ‘Full Of Moon’ features previously released singles ‘War Romance’ and ‘I Am Not In A Hurry’. The record is a meticulously crafted sonic universe that tells stories of the beauty and potency of vulnerability, and the complexities of connection and perception, carried by Mooney’s soaring ethereal voice over lush, cinematic soundscapes.
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