STACK Jan 123

10 / 68

A Quick Look at
New Music,
All Different Kinds,
All Different Places.
visit
DECEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
018
EXTRAS NEWS
M ahalia Barnes (above) has teamed up
with American blues maestro Joe
Bonamassa for an album that pays tribute
to ’70s funk icon Betty Davis (who was once also
married to Miles Davis). Mahalia’s father, Jimmy
Barnes, guests on one track. It’s released in February.
Gaz Coombes of Supergrass issues a solo album
called Matador on Jan 26. Bob Dylan sings Sinatra:
yes, you read that right; Zimmy releases Shadows in
the Night in February, cut live in the studio with his
touring band. Speaking of Frank Sinatra, his
centennial year is being celebrated in 2015. Those
Earles are just damn prolific, aren’t they? With son
Justin Townes releasing two albums in the last six
months, Steve Earle is no slouch either: he has
Terraplane coming out on February 17. British India
will return with a new album early in 2015. Modest
Mouse return after eight years with Strangers to
Ourselves on March 8. English expat, now LA resident,
Laura Marling releases a new album called Short
Movie on March 23. San Francisco’s Vetiver return
with Complete Strangers in late March. The B 52s’
Kate Pierson releases her solo debut Guitars
and Microphones in February. The Pop Group
issue their first record since the 1980s to coincide
with their upcoming Australian tour: it’s called Citizen
Zombie. ’90s it-girl Juliana Hatfield (ex-Lemonheads)
returns from a long period of seclusion with Whatever,
My Love on Feb 17. Imagine Dragons return with
Smoke and Mirrors on Feb 13. The Wombats will
follow-up 2011’s The Modern Glitch with Glitterbug in
April. Blink 182 have solid plans to record their
seventh album in 2015, the follow up to 2011’s
Neighbourhoods.
L ondon siblings Kitty, Daisy and
Lewis Durham are music purists.
Growing up Camden Town, North
London, they were surrounded by music,
and have recorded all their albums live to
analogue tape. Their new album, Third, was
recorded in a newly built studio of their own
design, and helmed by a bona fide English
musical giant, Mick Jones (ex-The Clash, Big
Audio Dynamite, now sometimes seen with
Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz).
Vaguely rooted in classic rhythm and
blues, the music of Kitty, Daisy and Lewis
soaks up influence from all over the world.
“My dad was from India – but he was Anglo-
Indian – and they had rock and roll, jazz and
stuff, which obviously got there through
Great Britain,” says Lewis on the line from
London. “My mum’s family was Jewish,
from Eastern Europe. There’s loads of mish-
mashing of music, in this country which came
together and formed some pretty crazy sounds,
which a lot of people aren’t quite used to.”
Kitty, Daisy and Lewis is a resolutely family
affair: the three siblings recorded their previous
albums in their parents’ cramped backroom, but
having built their own studio, they could stretch
out a bit. “We wanted more space, make it
a bit ‘bigger sounding’ – musically as well as
technically. I like a good technical exercise
myself, and we enjoy recording in our
own space and in our own time. I like having
personal vibes on a sound, differences in
sound. It’s something I really enjoy in music.“
A chance encounter with punk legend Jones
at London’s Notting Hill carnival lead to him
helming the new album, but instead of a couple
of rushed weeks, Jones spent a full four months
with the band rehearsing. “He was like taken
away by it,“ says Lewis. “He said, ‘I want to
learn the song’ – that was his way of starting
out the record. Mick just wanted to get down
on tape what we were doing in rehearsal and
capture that vibe.”
Lewis says Jones was a perfect fit, because
from just talking about the old punk days, he
was a genuine music nut. “He loves a good
waffle: loads of stories and he’s a sweet,
knowledgeable guy. We spent hours talking
about music, and politics. He’ll come out and
say, ‘Have you heard this? I love this record.’
It will be something which no one would ever
imagine Mick Jones liking – a show tune or
some sort of French ’60s tune!”.
The album’s closer, Developers, is a short
musical protest aimed at London’s gentrification.
“Most places I go in London are disappearing or
are on their way out. I feel very strongly about
it. Camden has changed so much in the years
that we’ve been on the planet. They demolished
what’s called The Stables Market, like an old
fashioned stables. That’s all gone. There’s
developers burning down pubs and all this, and
you know, it’s terrible.“
Third by Kitty, Daisy and Lewis
streaming on JB HI-FI NOW,
nd is released Jan 30 on Shock.
Kitty, Daisy and Lewis’ Third