In
Conversation with
A
little background:
Coraline are a two piece who I recently discovered under the
acoustic / classical / jazz section on myspace.com while
networking recently on my poetry page on myspace.com
for new people to read my stuff and when I heard I really
heard something special which was magical in a dreamy,
folk music which was something that I knew straight away
that I could really love, so it made natural sense I
interviewed the duo, so I dropped them a note and of
course the interview followed in due course.
The band themselves describe their influences on their
myspace.com page as �we like lots of things... nice strong
cups of tea (with not much milk for rae)...lovely crisp
mornings when you can see your breath but you have a
warm hat on...anything magical, witchy or mythical....
As for music - here's a few who influence our sound...
Bjork Tori Amos PJ Harvey Anthony and The Johnsons,
Aretha, Billie, Ella, Sarah Vaughan, Mahler, Bob Dylan,
Jeff Buckley J.S. Bach Wagner Joan Armatrading,
Kate Bush Samuel Barber Sigur ros�
The duo themselves borrowing their notes on myspace.com
as �hard to comprehend, even harder to explain, but
addictive as a drug. Stylistically intense, the music
is full of originality and amazing musicianship.
The melodies are a life all their own, haunting,
almost longing.� VH-1 Song of the Year Review
2007. These notes also add Rae has been selected as a
finalist in the Song of the Year competition, supporting
VH-1's save the music foundation, from thousands of
entrants from all over the world. Before concluding
with in June 2007, they were winners of Manchester�s
EXR acoustic competition�
The duo�s myspace.com is http://www.myspace.com/coralineuk
They can be contacted also on their e mail address which is coralineuk@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks again for the interview.
Cheers
Andy N
Setting Sun:
How are things and
what�s happening at the
moment?
Coraline:
Things are good, thanks! Its been a busy few months,
I (Rae got placed as finalist in VH-1's song of the year,
which
has led to us
doing an industry showcase on 21st Feb, with
the amazing
geEkgiRL playing too. Joel (the bass) will be doing
a marathon stint on the night as he is playing with both
of us!
Then Sarah and I are through to the semi-finals of
UKunsigned,
which takes place on 1st March in London.
Setting Sun:
Next, can you tell us
a little bit about your music � who fired
the starting pistol
as I like to say sometimes etc?
Coraline:
Well I have been writing songs and telling stories for
absolutely ages. Having been in a few bands (including
RedRightHand
with Joel) I decided to go solo but then met Sarah
(violin) and found
she had the same
interests in fairytales, interesting sounds and
cups of tea so we started working together. Things grew
from there
and I am just lucky enough to know a load of great
musicians
who are lovely people and come along and add to my songs.
So Coraline has
become this great melting pot of sounds that I can
unleash my
imagination into!
Setting Sun:
Music-wise, what are your influences and who are you
listening to at the
moment?
Coraline:
I love so much different music, and I also love being influenced by
whoever is working in Coraline at a particular time. A
lot of people
compare my sound to Kate Bush or Tori Amos, (girl singers
on
keys!) but I love Bjork, Bob Dylan, Mahler, loads of
stuff. Sarah
is similarly mixed as her playing is a combination of
classical
and jazz styles. Joel's influences are shown by the
million and one
bands he plays with including a punk band, a ska band, a
latin quartet,
a soul band and a few jazz bits along the way (Joel's
myspace is in
Coraline's top friends - you will see what I mean!) He
also does
a lovely cover of Britney's 'Hit me Baby'. As to current
listenings
...Kate Rusby, Gossip and Imogen Heap are all on the
stereo at the
minute.
Setting Sun:
I know from looking
at your myspace.com page you play gigs�
How does your
approach change to playing in your studio work?
Coraline:
Similarly Chaotic in both! I sometimes play solo, but as often as
I can I grab others to play with me...Sarah and I have
done
quite a few gigs as a duo and that is always fun. On the
21st
there will be a little bit of everything, solo building
up to a whole
band sound. I love playing with anyone interesting, so if
you
like the music and play or sing, send me a message!
Setting Sun:
Probably my favourite song of yours is �Rita�
� can you tell
us a little bit more
about that song?
Coraline:
A lot of Coraline songs are about well known stories, turned on
their head. 'Rita' is about Lovely Rita Meter Maid (by a
certain
very famous Liverpool group) and what she did next. I
like
thinking about the story behind a story, so in 'Rita' she
gets a job
as a taxi driver (she drives a ten-seater) and she's
always trying
to find that thing that makes her different, trying to
find
something new. I think she's a feisty girl, but all
heart!
Musically, the song started with Sarah's violin riff and
she and
I played around with that doing some scat and throwing
silly
words in. It didn't get drums until 4pm on the day we
recorded it �
We had played it all back and just thought - this is
crying out for
drums, so we called Leon and he drove down in fifteen
minutes
like a drumming superhero!
Setting Sun:
What�s next for you? Do you have any recordings planned
etc?
Coraline:
Just building up to the showcase and UK unsigned and
gigging in London, then into the studio soon for some
more
recording - watch this space....
Setting Sun:
What�s the
inspiration behind your
name?
Coraline:
Coraline is a brilliantly spooky story by Neil Gaiman
about a strong little girl called Coraline and
'The Other Mother' (brrrrrrr)
Setting Sun:
Where are you from?
What�s the music scene like
where you live? Have
you seen any good concerts
recently?
Coraline:
I've lived in Manchester for the last nine years but
just moved down to Surrey and waiting to move into a
flat in London.
The music scene in Manchester is great and there
are venues and bands that I miss but am enjoying
it here too. The last concert I went to was Misty's Big
Adventure, who were great, and two days before that I
saw the David Goo Variety Show in Guildford.
Absolute. Genius. I especially recommend a band
called Todger who have a song about Eskimos...
Setting Sun:
What would be your
dream job if you were
not a musician?
Coraline:
hmmmm, experimental freestyle dancer? Or
maybe a long distance lorry driver, with a cab
full of yorkies.
Setting Sun:
What would you like
to be doing when you
are 60?
Coraline:
Hopefully sitting in a bar in texas, holding court to
an enthralled bunch of youngsters, talking about
how music isn't what it used to be and how I
remember a time before i-tunes....
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what will you be doing when you are
60?
Coraline:
Probably sitting in a bar in dunstable, with a bunch
of cats, and a massive pot of tea.