Lonelady – in session for Lauren LaVerne – March 25, 2015 – BBC 6 Music –
Lonelady in session for Lauren LaVerne at BBC 6 Music – broadcast on March 25, 2015.
I ran across this session and was struck by its deceptive simplicity and wound up listening several times. I ran another session of hers a few years ago but haven’t managed to find anything more recent – I suspect that should be changing, especially now since she will be touring starting in September until February of next year.
I did unearth her bio, so I thought I would post a bit of it here in case you are not familiar with this astonishing artist:
“Julie Campbell, A.K.A LoneLady, is a musician, songwriter, singer and producer from Manchester, England. Inspired by British post-punk Julie first started making recordings in the early-mid 2000s on a 4-track cassette recorder in her towerblock flat in Manchester while completing a Fine Art Degree. As her name indicates LoneLady writes, performs and records all the components of her music, building up her own soundworlds in a solitary creative process.
Her starkly urgent debut album ‘’Nerve Up’’ was released on Warp in 2010 to critical acclaim. Showcasing Julie’s choppy, intricate and economical guitar playing and judiciously sparse arrangements, John Doran (The Quietus) in the NME called it a “unique, brilliant debut … we should celebrate LoneLady as the arrival of a fresh and invigorating voice whose talent transcends time and space and influence’’. Co-produced with Guy Fixsen through their shared love of Martin Hannet, influenced in particular by his ‘dehumanised’ and ‘cold’ drum sound.
Julie’s second album ”Hinterland” was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2015. Its longer, groove-oriented tracks reflect Julie’s expanding musical palette, now incorporating elements of electronic dance music and funk. Inspired by psychogeography, the landscapes of a very personal Manchester are invoked in every song. As with Nerve Up, playing all instruments except real drums, (played by Andrew Cheetham on both albums) Julie recorded, mixed and produced Hinterland to near-completion in her home studio in Manchester, entirely alone. She then travelled to Keyclub Recording Co, Michigan, for some finishing touches and additional production with Bill Skibbe, using a mixing desk previously owned by Sly Stone.
Created on electronic sequencers, synths and drum machines in a basement bunker beneath Somerset House, London, LoneLady’s 3rd studio album FORMER THINGS is a tour-de-force of punch-and-crunch electro, r’n’b and pop, shot through with mournful eulogies to the lost golden age of childhood and youth.”
Since this session is six years old I’m sure she’s got other live performances around – I will be digging and seeing what I can find. She has a new album coming out on June 25th – it’s on pre-order and her other albums are also available via her website – head over there and pick up a few.
In the meantime – enjoy the set. It’s short, but it begs for more – so stay tuned.
