Duffy’s Rockferry
by It may have been a bad move on my behalf to play the soulful tracks of Duffy for the first time at 9:30 this morning. The talented 24 year-old Welsh native had me crooning along to her emotional roller-coaster of melancholy like I needed a strong southern drink — pretty impressive considering I’m not one for soul music. Yet what makes Duffy’s music so inviting is not just the fact that she oozes the fun of Amy Winehouse on a high, or the nostalgic woes of Dusty Springfield, but her marvelously modern take on a genre that is belittled by bad covers and aspiring country singers. No surprises then that her debut album Rockferry is the biggest selling album in the UK this year, selling more than 560,000 copies already.
Tagged: pop music, soul music, Wales, Welsh songwriter
- 1
- 0
RELATED
We’re big fans of the diverse musical output of Barry Adamson, so we caught up with him for a chat. Read more
Interview with Duffy (no vampire slayer)
If Dusty Springfield and Bryan Ferry had a love child, if their paths has crossed ever so briefly in some sketchy Soho warehouse, it would be Welsh chanteuse, Duffy. We sat down with her recently to see what makes her tick, tick, tick: Bar a few bands, Wales isn’t renowned for its music. How did you develop an enthusiasm and confidence without that solid bedrock that would drive artists in places like Manchester, Liverpool and London? ‘Just out of desire. I really wanted to do it, but I’m still trying to find confidence. I just wanted to make a record and be a part of the music culture. But where I grew up, I felt I had to keep all this to myself because other people were only going to disagree. I prefer to never tell somebody something than have them disagree with me’. Read more
We’re big fans of French duo Cocoon, so we spoke to frontman Marc Daumail to prove it. Ahead of their upcoming tour of Australia in November, we asked him how vibrant the French music scene is right now: ‘It’s such a relief to be considered like a real band singing in English in a country like France, which is very conservative about its music traditions. We know Moriarty and The Do. They are nice. We all worked a lot to make this scene exist’. Which folk acts have most excited you recently? ‘My albums of the year are not very folky: Grizzly Bear, Lee Fields, The XX. But The Tallest Man On Earth just made one of the best folk albums of all time’. Read Cocoon’s Secret Playlist.
Also by KATE SUTERS
From the dusty depths of Western Australia comes the making of another great Aussie band. Tame Impala have just released their self-titled EP and it’s already seducing ears across the airwaves. With a psychedelic sound akin to the rollicking groove of Led Zeppelin mixed up and delicately caressed with the sound of modern day hope and desire, this is an EP that absolutely deserves your attention.
David Holmes’ The Holy Pictures
David Holmes’ fourth solo album has been a long time in the making. The man who is best known for his scoring of films such as Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13, and remixing for bands like U2 and The Manic Street Preachers, took just over ten years to make his latest album. Read more
As the final festival devotees gather their bags, pick up their muddy gumboots, and make their long journey home, the hills of Byron Bay seem eerily quiet. Over 17,500 music fans poured into Belongil Fields for the three day Splendour in the Grass event to watch music juggernauts Devo, Sigur Ros, Wolfmother, The Presets and The Cold War Kids do their thing. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Cambridge artist Alan Warburton collaborated with a non-art audience to produce this series of work in which he asked volunteers to use fruit to explain politics: ‘In Caracas, Venezuela, volunteers explained the complex and lively political scene using melons, and in Cambridge, diverse residents used locally picked apples to explain the issues that affect the city’, he says of how the series unfolded. Read more
Anything goes in New York, even a white peacock in the middle of Manhattan. Yes, a white peacock! Who says the Upper West side is ‘upstate?’ Come visit one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in New York, which host the famous Cathedral of St. John The Divine (112th St. and Amsterdam Avenue). Read more
Jeans are a science, a science based on the deep knowledge of denim, washes and patterns, according to Dr. Denim, who have certainly twisted and turned every single atom of all their jeans into perfection. Each pair exudes a progressive design, made of superior quality at fair prices. My high waists have become the most desirable item in my wardrobe due to the denim’s strength which magically sculpts to your body yet leaves you embracing the comfort of wearing tracky-dacks. Seriously, there is nothing more important than owning a good-fitting pair of jeans. Dr. Denim delivers unisex designs that appeal to everyone.
Swapping clothes between friends isn’t a new concept, but being able to swap your designer goods online with another member is. One of the biggest clothes swapping site is Big Wardrobe, with over millions of dollars worth of free clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories to swap. It features everything from designer to High St, American Apparel to Luella.
In the grand tradition of Funny Exam Answers, comes Passive Aggressive Notes. Read more
Heavy metal and hip-hop are perhaps the most popular forms of rebellion for kids the world over. In Malaysia, metal — particularly black metal — has taken such a strong hold that the Fatwa Council there banned it, fearing that the music would compel listeners to rebel against religion. Contrary to the council’s intentions, black metal is as popular as ever in Malaysia, and is a recognizable cultural touchstone there, as indicated by the above clip from the 2005 film Filem Rock.
Grinning Cat is a beautiful electronic album from prodigious Japanese producer, Susumu Yokota. It borrows liberally from the melodic melancholy of classical music and features subtle drum loops throughout. We interviewed him about the artwork that he creates for each release. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
Check out Mike Stimpson’s Lego reinterpretations of classic photographs. Stimpson’s version of Malcolm Browne’s iconic 1963 photograph of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc is particularly twisted. Read more
Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Alex Passapera’s dizzying pen and ink drawings are cascades of images melting into one another, often looking like contorting, mutating creatures spewing blood-like ink splatters. Read more
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
Thanks to Sony Australia, four Lost At E Minor readers will win personal audio prizes, including the new 8GB Walkman S series video MP3 player and the MDRXB500 Extra Bass headphones. Read more
Cast from actual Keys, these unisex rings by young New York-based designer Kiel Mead are a fun way to celebrate an old car or an apartment. They come in Sterling Silver and we have them for sale through the Lost At E Minor online shop. Read more
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
