THIS WEEK: LAURENCE MADE ME CRY
Laurence Made Me Cry is multi-instrumentalist Jo Whitby, a West Country girl at heart but now making roots in Cardiff. I have fallen in love with her voice very recently: the tone and the delivery relaxes me. Like Tracey Thorn‘s early work, Jo’s voice the same sense of a journey being undertaken – of restless emotion & connection being delivered: particularly on The Cunning Folk.
This is gentle folk music – but dig a little deeper and you’ll also hear that otherwordly electronica I so favour: textures, tones, movement and joy.
Take note though dear readers/listeners,like much of the new fresh helpings coming out of Folk town ,this is not depressing music,give it a chance and you will come to see that this is thoughtful,optimistic,questioning music with melody dancing through its inner core.And a great name too – Laurence Made Me Cry
I haven’t heard a female voice with the subtle ability to totally floor me since I first heard Guro from Better Fires sing ‘Make me happy‘ – Jo has that ability and I have a sneaky that she is going to get better and better as she continues to find her musical feet.
It’s all about connecting to the voice,its a mysterious thing isn’t it that many people get it/feel it instantly when they first hear a voice and other’s either don’t get it at all or take a while longer to get there.Life and our individual journey’s mean we all arrive with differing stories to tell,differing emotions to feel at differing speeds & angles-ain’t life sweet!
Laurence Made Me Cry is currently busy recording the album ‘The Diary of Me’,with various collaborators in and outside the UK. It will be released on 11th March 2013.
I really think Jo has something that is very special,what say you?
Upcoming shows:
7th November 2012 @ Buffalo Bar, Cardiff (TONIGHT!!!)
19th December 2012 @ 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff
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2. Favourite childhood memory?
Growing up I spent a lot of time at my maternal grandparents home. I knew as soon as my grandad would return home from work the fun would begin. One of my favourite memories has to be when we tried to cook a jacket potato in the garden by making a small fire from twigs. Doing it the boy scouts way with two sticks wasn’t working so we opted for the magnifying glass and sunshine route which did set the twigs on fire. With it being such a small fire the potato didn’t cook through at all but it was a cool experiment and I learned how to set fire to things with a magnifying glass.
3. Hero?
Anyone who can live their life with integrity and truth whilst retaining their inner child is a hero to me.
4. Villain?
Currently I’d have to say the UK government.
5. What/who makes you laugh?
I have quite a dark sense of humour, a little bit off the wall. At the moment I can’t get enough of ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’ which I watch over the internet. He makes me laugh out loud pretty much without fail which I’d say is quite an achievement. Friends and family make me laugh a lot – I need to have funny people around me. I laugh at myself quite regularly too.
6. Describe what you do?
I tell stories with music and pictures but sometimes I let the words do the storytelling by themselves. You didn’t see me but I actually answered this question using expressive dance. I am a tree…
7. Who’s hair would you like to have for just one day?
I’d like the shiny ginger locks of Karen Gillan please. Actually make that the whole body, throw in the accent too then we have a deal.
8. Best musical experience to date
If a performance starts feeling magical and the hairs begin to stand up on the back of my neck or I feel like crying I know the show is good. It wouldn’t be fair to highlight one particular experience.
9. What artist inspires you?
Another tricky question, I can feel all the machinery in my brain clunking and grinding trying to come up with the answer. I think I’ll have to go with the weird and wonderful Kate Bush who has been a staple in my musical diet since childhood. Her music videos are as much an inspiration to me as her music. During the 90s I saw an interview with her in her home and she was shaking as she made a cup of tea, the water going everywhere. It made me realise that she wasn’t perfect and had her ups and downs like the rest of us. I respected her even more after that. She’s awesome.
Fresh On The Net is a fantastic resource for musicians looking for advice but also a place where fans and artists can get together and discover new music. Since participating with the Fresh Faves section of the site I’ve made lots of new friends. In fact I put a gig on in London recently and asked a band who I’d befriended via the site to play. Long may Fresh On The Net continue.
Very nice band and interview 🙂 and playing tonigt!! wow!
cheers Mar,we try to get them out in time when we can:)
Loving Laurence Made Me Cry
And following on from the mentioned gig last night at The Buffalo Bar LMMC have just posted a video from the gig- Paper Chains- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRwiC1vZ8T8&feature=plcp
Wow, just stunning music…I really love ‘Laurence Made Me Cry’ – I’m now going to track down some more of their stuff
I agree Debs,stunning music 🙂