Giles Peterson's artist development scheme Future Bubblers and Brownswood Recordings have released their seventh instalment as they continue their journey to showcase some of the most interesting and developing unsigned talent right now. With support from the PRS Foundation and powered by the Arts Council England, the budding artists also share direct revenue from the compilation project.
This 8-track body of work features a diverse range of genres, spanning across alternative R&B, ambient electronic, jazz and more. This round of Bubblers have given time to New Wave for a Sounds and Sonics to tell us all about their tracks.
'The Way' Romy Nova
‘The Way’ has quite an ethereal melody that changes and develops through the course of the track. Where did you draw inspiration from when creating this song?
My time studying various world musics and jazz taught me to value taking time to develop ideas throughout a piece. To respect the layers, and be patient in growing its intensity. Many sounds have inspired me over the years. The soaring horns of Pharaoh Sanders, Zim Ngqawana and Archie Shepp. Those biting riffs from Shuggie Otis and haunting vocals of Unloved, Mary Margaret O'Hara and Sainkho Namtchylak. I wanted to create a piece that sang like they all did
'Separate Ways' Jackie Moonbather
‘Separate Ways’ comes across as more of a funky jazz number. What were the biggest challenges you faced when trying to perfect this track?
I came down with a cold or something on the day we were booked in to record this track, so energy levels were low, but Tesla studios is an inspiring place full of really nice keyboards and stuff so it was a pleasure to record there. Having Oliver on drums too, we’ve recorded a lot of music together, including my first 2 solo EPs, our workflow together is smooth.
'Blomster' Ney Liqa
Hailing from Sweden, in what ways did you try and incorporate your heritage through sound with ‘Blomster’?
The song is called ’Blomster’ (swedish for blossom) because i wrote it at the end of the summer when everything was blooming in sweden. But there is also an ad lib in swedish in the beginning of the song that is quite hard to hear but i ended up keeping because i liked the sound it gave. 10 points to whoever can make it out!
'2 Many' LANDEL
As you personally draw upon cloud rap and alternative R&B, what’s your view of the Birmingham rap scene today and how did that influence ‘2 Many’?
I think the rap scene in Birmingham is great, it was more Birmingham neo-soul /jazz musicians and producers, not rappers that influenced this song though. Myself, paal, the kairi twins and Tommy Shlugs put our heads together and created it.
'Brisk' Pertrelli Purple
‘Brisk’ comes through as more poetic compared to the rest of the tracks on this project. What are some things that encourage you during the writing process for songs?
Thank you ! This approach was encouraged by all the artists on this year's batch of Future Bubblers. They're making such poetic, organic and full music, the kind of stuff that lives for a long time. I just didn't want to fall short. As for writing, this is just me. I have thoughts and feelings from the past and present I'm trying to work through so when I write they just come through to me to be honest. Both of these verses were written to be on drill/grime beats originally but it's about the delivery that really changes how something is received.
'Stryder' Marysia Osu
‘Stryder’ sounds dream-like, as if watching memories playback in a projection. How do stringed instruments make you feel and what do you want to make them do to the listener?
I believe string instruments were built with an intention to imitate the human voice, they are very expressive. I especially love the sound of the cello because of its deep and low tones- and the cello actually has a very similar range to the human voice. String sections just sound lush! In the first version of Stryder, the melodies came from a choir that I made with my voice in the Ableton Looper, and later I started imagining the choir layered and blended with strings. In this track, the cello (played by Emma Barnaby) has become the focal point and the melodies express a melancholic but hopeful story. I like the comment about ‘Stryder’ sounding dream-like and like a playback of memories- when I am listening to it following the melodies of the choir and strings, I see a female warrior trekking across a harsh landscape, like a desert. She’s fending off demons who try to block her path, but nothing ever stops her, she is
always moving forward and remains calm. I encourage the listener to do the same, to follow the cello’s singing and go on their own journey with them.
'Aether' Michael Diamond
‘Aether’ moulds sounds of jazz and electronic together really well. What was the thing that made you fall in love with this genre in the beginning?
Thank you! I absolutely love the trumpet lines my mate Grifton Forbes-Amos from Tomorrow's warriors laid down for this track - they provided the theme for the whole track, and made the process of making it extremely fun. I think what initially got me into fusing jazz & electronics is that I love the individual genres of electronic and jazz, so it makes sense that the music I like to make for myself is a blend of the two. Definitely a lot of labels and artists whose works I've enjoyed who helped develop this interest - erased tapes, floating points, eglo, livity sound, timedance etc.I love the fusion of inorganic sound design elements with more 'real' / human / organic textures. I'm currently working on a few projects with some jazz instrumentalists I love which explores this sound further - I'm excited to see where it goes :)
'Reflections' Coex
Did you know that ‘Reflecions’ was going to be the closer to the project? Was there anything that you did with the combination of instruments and lyricism used to ensure it was going to be digested well as a finisher?
To be honest when writing it we had no idea what order the songs were going to go in, it just kind of slipped into place. I knew I wanted it to be kind of symphonic, and as usual we tried to challenge ourselves to do something unique and experimental. We are always trying to come up with new sounds, but we also experimented a lot with different chord structures which we don't usually do. However, the essence of most of our stuff is generally written off feeling rather than thought, and there was a lot of soul and feeling put into this track. I think that is why it feels a fitting place to end the album. When it all comes to a crescendo you can almost feel the echoes of the whole collaborative piece washing away. Within the album it feels like it concludes a lot of soul and passion that each of the artists put into it. We were really happy with how nicely it summarized such a beautiful album.
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