STACK #152 Jun 2017

MUSIC NEWS

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Witness by Benjamin Booker is out June 2 via Remote Control.

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BENJAMIN BOOKER Words Tim Lambert D octors recommend fruit, veg and exercise, but I advise you add a good dose of New Orleans crooner Benjamin Booker's new album Witness to your diet to keep your soul healthy. From the opening bars of Right On You it’s clear this record was made to make you happy; once Booker’s coarse and beautifully cracked voice hits your ears you’re sucked right into his world. Motivation encourages a fresh outlook, and you’ll need your dancing shoes on by the time you get to upbeat, hip-swinging Off The Ground . Brightness emanates from the title track, from its slinky guitars to the endearingly guileless piano, and the gospel choir which cuddles Mavis Staples’ gorgeous feature vocal. Forget Bourbon Street and its beads; this is soul food, teaching you how to live right – one song at a time.

MARIKA HACKMAN This month British singer-songwriter Marika Hackman releases her incisive, quick-witted, engrossing and super fun debut I'm NotYour Man – we asked her some questions.

it could’ve been lifted from a Tarantino soundtrack – looks like my plan worked. I wouldn’t say that I’m an accomplished whistler; I can carry a tune but nothing fancy. I’ve always been really jealous of people who can do that really loud whistle where you put two fingers in your mouth. How about the other effects on this one: there are whip-cracks and something that sounds like metallic castanets? I wanted some whip-cracks to really bring home that sort of western feel, so I found some clips of people cracking whips online and sampled the best ones. It actually took a really long time to find those proper, almost cartoonish whip-crack sounds, I think I went through about 60… I think the metallic castanets you’re talking about are actually wooden frogs. They’ve got these ridged backs which you run a little wooden stick down and they make a very satisfying noise. Charlie invested in a whole set of different-sized frogs so we could get the right tone, and then we each picked one and recorded it together in the live room. I heard many references to mouths in these lyrics, all the way across the album. Do you have an oral fixation, or do I? I think I do have an oral fixation – I used to suck my thumb a lot, and long enough that it got to the point where I was definitely too old. I also remember, when I was a kid, holding food against my mouth before I would eat it, which is pretty weird – I hope there aren’t any psychologists reading this. I guess the main song focusing on mouths is Violet , seeing as it says ‘I love your mouth’ about 50 times, but that’s actually just because my girlfriend has a great mouth. ZKR

Unplugged set. It’s a pretty simple part but it adds a lot of warmth; I’ve always really loved the sound of a lone cello. On Cigarette there are tiny haunting whining sounds (violin and your voice?) in the background of the last section of this song.Why are these miniscule atmospheric details important to you? I think that they have to be important to anyone making any kind of art. You can write a good song, but how you treat it in the studio can either take it up a level or just leave it where it was. If you’re trying to create any sort of atmosphere, especially on a song as intimate as Boyfriend , then it’s going to be those subtle details that do it. In my mind, Cigarette is almost like an interlude on this record; I feel like that moment in the song is there to give the listener some space to breathe in the middle before it all comes back in. AppleTree has a very Kill Bill kind of opening, with that whistle. Are you considered an accomplished whistler? It’s funny that you say that, because I actually went into that song wanting it to sound like

You’ve said you recently decided not to veil your ideas or feelings in metaphor any longer. I think we often use devices (metaphor, emojis, so on) to sort of soften our communication.What was the catalyst for your decision? I think it was just a confidence thing. I’ve been in the industry for a while now and I feel like I have now learnt how to separate 'Marika Hackman' the artist, and the person. I think understanding the difference between the two made it easier to be more direct with my lyrics, as I could attach them to my desired artistic persona rather than having them just linked back to me. The lyrics are still coming from a very personal place of course, and always have one foot in my own experiences, but I think this shift allowed me to let stuff flow out and not feel the need to shroud it in mystery as a protection device. On Good Intentions AKA Fountain Head, the switch into that double time, syncopated beat in the chorus is so unexpected (and cool!). Did you muck around a lot with the verse/chorus feel of this track before this specific idea struck you? I actually had the opening riff for a really long time and had written another song around it

which wasn’t good enough... and then I remember, I was just sitting on my bed noodling around, and the chorus just came out of nowhere. I added it into the demo and then went and played it to my housemate and that was that. I think it all happened pretty naturally; I don’t tend to have specific ideas before going into writing. The strings on RoundWe Go are super lovely.Where does that cello come from? I’ve been working with Kirsty, who plays violin and viola, and Rachael who plays cello for a few years now. They’re both amazing musicians. I wanted to have a cello part in this one to emphasise [a] stripped-back feel... inspired of course by Nirvana’s MTV

I'm Not Your Man by Marika Hackman is out June 2 via Caroline.

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JUNE 2017

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