Posts Tagged ‘First Aid Kit’

VAN WILLIAM – ” Countries “

Posted: November 17, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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While the name Van William may be new to some of you his first band more than likely won’t be – well at least not if you were a regular listener to Folk Radio UK back in 2008 when Port O’Brien, his first band, was receiving plenty of airplay . He then went on to form a second band called Waters. Whatever musical shifts these two bands explored there was, and still is, there is no mistaking Van’s vocals which first drew me to the Indie-folk sound of Port O’Brien . It turns out that during this time he managed to cultivate a tight-knit community of fellow musicians, embarked on a serious, years-long romantic relationship, even found time to spend summers in the Kodiak Islands of Alaska working on his father’s commercial fishing boat.

Although my time on Kodiak Island, Alaska has always been a huge part of who I am, I’ve never been able to share much of it with anyone other than my immediate family. this video highlights how life feels up there and how heartbreaking it is to say goodbye to my years as a commercial fisherman. the songs on my EP and forthcoming album are deeply tied to my experiences on Kodiak. the fact that my life up there is ending while this project is starting feels right in every sense.” but with it came a “renewed sense of purpose” and a new musical direction, heralded by the arrival of ‘Countries’, Van’s vivid and open-hearted solo debut full length album, set for release on 19th January 2018 via Fantasy Records / Concord Music.

The songs on his new album are very much tied to his experiences on Kodiak Island, Alaska, something he clearly wanted those listening to his music to be aware of. This recent introductory video is very revealing about “how life feels up there and how heartbreaking it is to say goodbye to my years as a commercial fisherman. The songs on my EP and forthcoming album are deeply tied to my experiences on Kodiak. The fact that my life up there is ending while this project is starting feels right in every sense.”

The album includes Van’s recent single ‘Revolution’ (featuring guest vocals from First Aid Kit) and marking the album’s announcement a fresh new single: The Country.

FIRST AID KIT – ” Postcard / It’s A Shame “

Posted: October 30, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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First Aid Kit have announced the full details of their fourth album Ruins which will be out on January 19th, it is the follow up to 2014’s acclaimed Stay Gold.

The Söderberg sisters announced their return at the end of September with ‘It’s A Shame’. Ruins will come out on 19th January, and the band have shared another sample of the new record with ‘Postcard’.

The single leans heavily on the style of classic country ballads about a fading romance, with sliding guitar swells and ambling rhythms accented by sophisticated piano lines. The duo’s seamlessly blended harmonies bid a lover farewell: “Send me a postcard when you get to where you’re going / Send me a line to everything you’ve left behind.”

“‘Postcard’ is one of the most traditional-sounding songs we’ve ever written, and we wanted the production to mirror that,” the sisters have said . “It’s not a resentful song, but more of a reaching out to a lover to wish them well on their journey in the midst of having to let them go.”

The Swedish band’s Instagram reveals Ruins was produced by Tucker Martine and recorded at Flora Studios in Portland, Oregon. the girls collaborated with R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Wilco’s Glenn Kotche and Midlake’s McKenzie Smith.

VAN WILLIAM PIERSZALOWSKI and FIRST AID KIT – ” Revolution “

Posted: August 26, 2017 in MUSIC
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So many songs have taken on new meaning over the past nine months or so. Ask Van William Pierszalowski about his song “Revolution” and he’ll tell you that it “started as a song about the anxieties of being in a relationship, where both people want to fix its broken parts, but disagree on the means,” but “became something else during and after the 2016 election.”

However, that original inspiration was the video’s guiding force, Van William told me. “Something simple and stark that followed a linear progression into the madness found in the waning days of a romantic relationship. I wanted the video to show the claustrophobic feeling that can form by sharing too much of each other’s lives and being unable to repair the damage from inside the walls of what was built together.” It’s an idea, he says, that came while binge-watching Ingmar Bergman films.

Director Grant James wrote to tell me that “Revolution’ is an emotional performance delivered by Van, as well as First Aid Kit’s Klara and Johanna Söderberg, within the confines of a black void. The focus was to compose moving portraits of the artists that express the meaning behind the lyrics of the song as the musicians go through an emotional journey individually and together. The result delivers a variety of raw and striking imagery that balances the fine line between high-fashion cinematography and keeping our subjects grounded in their own natural aesthetic and realism.”

When Van William was listening to a version of his song in the studio, it was clear to him that he wanted the duo First Aid Kit to add their sibling voices to his song. “We have all known each other for almost ten years, when they opened for my old band Port O’Brien on a European tour. Life and the Atlantic Ocean separated us from continuing a real friendship for many years, but we reconnected at a mutual friend’s house party in L.A. early last year. We rekindled our connection into one of the most important friendships I’ve ever had, and tracked this together before they went back to Stockholm. When the three of us are together, it feels like family in the best possible way.”

The Revolution EP is the solo debut for Van William having been in previous bands WATERS and Port O’Brien. That EP will be out in September .

FIRST AID KIT – ” Live At Glastonbury ” 23th June 2017

Posted: June 26, 2017 in MUSIC
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There’s still plenty of the rustic, new-age hippy charm in First Aid Kit’s appearance, but the one thing that’s noticeable as they launch into ‘Wolf’ from their 2012 album The Lion’s Roar is that there is a new swagger in place.The sisters from Stockholm, Johanna and Clara, feature a notable shift in presentation in the form of Johanna’s move to bass guitar from keyboard/synth. Furthermore, their music seem to now slither with a hitherto unexplored groove; bobbing up and down,Whilst they dig deep into their own catalogue – which includes a heart stopping rendition of ‘Ghost Town’ – they also take time to dig out an old 70s classic. ‘The Gambler’ is tackled with vim, vigour and it’s fair to say that it is one big winner with the festival crowd. Promisingly, new song ‘It’s A Shame’ is quickly greeted like an old favourite. Unlike ‘You Are The Problem Here’, this is in keeping with the tone and format in which devotees of First Aid Kit are familiar.

They close out with the double whammy of old favourites and trademark songs, ‘Emmylou’ and ‘My Silver Lining’. Their rise is unstoppable and they are doing it on their own terms. Wonderful.

First Aid Kit live at Glastonbury Festival 23rd June 2017.

Musicians: Scott Simpson, Melvin Duffy, Steve Moore.
Setlist:
1. Wolf
2. Master Pretender
3. Waitress Song
4. The Lion’s Roar
5. You Are the Problem Here
6. Ghost Town
7. King of the World
8. The Gambler (Kenny Rogers cover)
9. Stay Gold
10. Emmylou
11. My Silver Lining

FIRST AID KIT – ” You Are The Problem Here “

Posted: March 8, 2017 in MUSIC
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Today is the International Women’s Day and the theme of the year is #BeBoldForChange. “You Are the Problem Here” isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song. It’s angry and direct.

It’s a song written out of despair. After reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which did not at all reflect the severity of his crime we felt upset and vengeful. We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them. Our message is clear and should not be controversial in the least: if you rape, you are the problem. Alcohol is not the problem. So called “youth culture” is not the problem. You are. And you always have a choice.

“You are the Problem Here” will be available on all digital platforms Friday, March 10th

First Aid Kit is donating all their proceeds from this song to Women for Women International: http://www.womenforwomen.org

FIRST AID KIT – ” Emmylou ” and ” Red Dirt Girl ” at the Polar Music Prize

Posted: June 12, 2015 in MUSIC
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First Aid Kit performing their song “Emmylou” for Laureate Emmylou Harris at the Polar Music Prize banquet at Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. At the Polar Music Prize ceremony 9th June 2015 First Aid Kit also performed “Red Dirt Girl” to honor the Polar Music Prize Laureate Emmylou Harris.

FIRST AID KIT – ” America ” On David Letterman

Posted: May 9, 2015 in MUSIC
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First Aid Kit perform the title track to their new EP, “America,” on the David letterman Show. As the final episodes of ” The Late Show ” winds down  David Letterman has asked some of his musical guests to cover some of his favorite songs, with Tracy Chapman covering the late  Ben E King “Stand By Me” and John Mayer  offering his rendition of Don McLean’s classic song “American Pie” Thursday night, he welcomed Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit to play the Simon and Garfunkel classic “America” a song they had covered previously and released on a special Record Store Day Black Friday 10″ EP. last year.

Before the duo performed the song, backed by a pianist and (an unpaid, according to Letterman) string section, Letterman explained the reason why he asked them to play that particular song. According to the host, “America” was one of two songs, along with the aforementioned “Stand By Me,” that he used to sing to his son as a part of their bed time rituals when the child was young. After the performance, an emotional Letterman thanked the duo and noted that their performance meant a great deal to him.

Watch the performance,  including Letterman’s introduction.

 

FIRST AID KIT – ” Winter Is All Over You ” Flo Gruber Remix

Posted: February 13, 2015 in MUSIC
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This is a gorgeous poster signed by the sisters Soderberg from their current european tour.
Swedish indie/folk duo consisting of sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg from Stockholm. The siblings began composing songs in 2007, taking their name at random from an English dictionary.
The debut EP “Drunken Trees” was released on the 9th of April 2008 in Sweden on the label Rabid Records, owned by the Swedish electronic duo The Knife. The EP was re-released through Wichita Recordings early 2009.

The debut album The Big Black & The Blue was released on January 25th, 2010.
Their 2nd album The Lion’s Roar, produced by Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, was released on January 24th, 2012.
This track has been given a special remix

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FIRST AID KIT – ” Master Pretender ” on Graham Norton Show BBC TV

Posted: February 1, 2015 in MUSIC
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First Aid Kit performing their latest single “Master Pretender” on BBC One The Graham Norton Show, January 30 2015.

FIRST AID KIT – ” Master Pretender “

Posted: January 30, 2015 in MUSIC
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If you were able to catch Swedish sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg live in 2014, you’d know that the song “Master Pretender” was one of the highlights of First Aid Kit’s set – the apex of their alt-country musings on the purpose of life and various other existential questioning set to a dusty desert lilt.

Following a year which included sold-out tour dates across the globe, a performance at the Royal Albert Hall and the release of their critically lauded album “Stay Gold”, they begin 2015 with the release of this track, and with it comes an animated video the band were wonderful at the Nottingham Royal Centre .

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