After Allan photographed Frankie Morrow solo earlier this year and with her band just over a week ago at their debut EP launch (‘Blue Parrot Backpackers Hostel’), he was so enthusiastic about the band that we had to ask them to make a contribution to this year’s High Fives. In a truly democratic approach, each of the band has submitted a favourite song from 2022. You definitely need to keep an eye out for Frankie Morrow in 2023; go and see them live if you can.
NEEV (Keys/acoustic guitar)
Martha Hill – ‘Right Out My Head’
I’ve always really liked Martha Hill and the way she picks out vocal melodies that have so much movement and character around her arrangements. Loving this one in particular because the production is so dynamic but keeps a lovely group of acoustic guitars and vocals at its core. Big production inspo for me at the mo, and the lyrics are so intelligent too.
DUNCAN (Drums)
Black Midi – ‘Sugar/Tzu’ Black Midi has always been a band I can’t stay away from for long, and the track ‘Sugar/Tzu’ has totally gripped me. From the surreal nature of the instrumental, to the brutal dynamic shifts between sections, resulting in a song that blurs the lines between jazz and rock. Performances on this track are delivered with pure energy, speed and accuracy, an addictive combination that perfectly complements the intensity of the story being told. The song ‘Sugar/Tzu’, and Black Midi, have opened my eyes to a whole new world of music, fuelling me with inspiration to experiment moving forward.
JAMES (Bass)
Black Country, New Road – ‘Concorde’
I can’t remember who in FM recommended this band but I’m so glad they did. ‘Ants From Up There’ is one of my favourite albums at the moment, and it’s really difficult to pick a track but I really enjoy the songwriting, structure and production on ‘Concorde’. I love the dynamics of the song, how it feels like it keeps building and how they’ve been so careful in the production to find a brilliant balance of all the instruments and vocals. The masterpiece of this song is the lyrics though, they feel so personal and direct, yet you could take your own meaning away from them. My favourite line is “But I’ll know you’ll be there, the Sandman inside.”
SAM (Guitar)
Julian Lage – ‘Auditorium’
On the several, glorious occasions on which I have had the fortune of hearing Julian Lage live, he has always been accompanied by the audible despair of every aspiring jazz guitarist in the room (myself included). When i first listened to his new record, ‘View from A Room’ (prod Margaret Glaspy), ‘Auditorium’ made me well up with teary joy – the gentle interplay from the legendary Bill Frisell joining his band, Dave King’s stirring momentum (also huge Bad Plus fan!) and Jorge Roeder’s loving groove all make for one of my favourite Julian Lage tracks of all time. I have always loved Jazz for highlighting chemistry of band members and this line up feels like it could be one for the books.
MAZ (Vocals/guitar)
Katy J Pearson – ‘The Hour’
I’ve been loving Katy J Pearson’s new record ‘Sound of the Morning’ and just recently saw her headline the Electric Ballroom with Neev a couple months back. It was brilliant! ‘Howl’ is an absolute tune – the brass, the hook – ‘Willow’s Song’ has a beautiful switch up thanks to drumming by Black Midi’s Morgan Simpson on it, but the standout track for me is ‘The Hour’. It’s a classic folk song – vocal and acoustic guitar, nothing more, nothing less – and it is so powerful. It sounds quite mediaeval actually. It has an eternal and haunting quality to it. We are in the process of writing our next set of tunes and it has really reminded me to come back to the bare bones of a song at its very core. Plus I loved learning the fact that the reason it was so stripped back was because she had fake nails on in the studio that day hahaha. Talk about making a virtue out of necessity!
And while we’re sharing videos, how about ‘White Rocks’ by Frankie Morrow:
It’s a bit of a momentous occasion; it’s the tenth birthday of High Fives and it’s also the first year of proper post-COVID gigs. That has to be worth celebrating, so we thought we would celebrate with a look back at some of the artists that Allan has photographed for the first time this year. Some of them are artists that he’s seen for the first time in 2022, but some of them have a story that stretches back a few years (OK, a lot of years). We’ll leave it to Allan to tell you about his photographic selections.
I’ve learnt over the years that you can never predict the way things will play out in the music business. Here’s a good example; the very first proper gig I saw was at Mansfield Civic Theatre in 1974 and the headliners were Brinsley Schwarz. I’ll never forget it because there was a stage invasion by a gang of Hell’s Angels which was beaten away by the road crew and the band (particularly Nick Lowe); it took a while to realise that gigs weren’t always like that. A few years later, I had photographed all of the Brinsleys in various incarnations with Graham Parker and Rockpile, except Brinsley himself. Fast forward four decades and a photo that I shot of Martin Belmont playing with Graham Parker and the Goldtops is used to publicise a Bob Collum gig that features a guest appearance by Brinsley Schwarz trying out new material and I get an invite to the gig and the opportunity to tell Brinsley why the stage invasion happened nearly fifty years ago and also get a chance to grab a backstage candid shot of Brinsley, Martin and Graham.
It’s another Seventies memory. One of the two football teams I grew up supporting was Mansfield Town, because I lived there from 1968 (the other’s East Fife, if you’re interested). In 1975, the DJ at Field Mill played Randy Edelman’s brilliant cover of Unit Four Plus Two’s ‘Concrete and Clay’ before every game; it was a pop classic and perfect football terrace material. It was followed up in 1976 with ‘Uptown, Uptempo Woman’ and I was completely sold. Randy then went on to write scores for incredibly successful movies. Fast forward again to 2022 and live music promoter Tony Moore tells me about a new club he’s booking artists for (The Camden Club) and that Randy Edelman is doing a free gig there. I’m already on it even before I find out that Isabella Coulstock is doing a support set. Anyway, I get to hear a great version of ‘Concrete and Clay’ and grab a few shots of Mr Edelman. Job done.
In June this year, I was shooting a gig at The Camden Chapel. The wonderful Say Anise was headlining and had invited Frankie Morrow along as support. The Chapel’s one of those gigs where I like to grab a few soundcheck shots as insurance because the lighting can be a bit challenging during gigs. During the soundcheck I had a chat with Frankie and, as fellow Scots, we got on pretty well. She turned in a storming solo set as support to Say Anise and I was hooked. Frankie told me about upcoming full-band gigs to promote her new EP and I was all fired up to photograph her with the full band before COVID got in the way and the gig was pushed back to November. It was no surprise that the band gig was stunning when it finally took place at The Sebright Arms a few days ago. Frankie’s definitely one to watch for 2023.
I’d heard lots of good things about Jenny Colquitt this year but, because of gig clashes, I didn’t manage to see her play until November when she played a headline set at Green Note supported by Simon James. Everything I’d heard about her was absolutely right; Jenny has great songs, her guitar and piano backing are both spot on and her voice has tremendous power even though she was recovering from a heavy cold and felt that her voice is only at about seventy per cent. I can’t wait to hear it at a hundred when she does the band tour next year.
Last, but definitely not least, in the list of this year’s discoveries is Amy Taylor. At the end of April, I went to a So Live Sessions showcase at Escape Bar in Dalston, mainly to catch up with Cloudy Galvez who was recovering from long COVID and gradually rebuilding her live career. If you do a lot of showcases, you see a lot of bands and it’s easy to get a bit blasé about supporting artists. Amy Taylor wasn’t about to let that happen and it was her original material that made an instant impact; she’s a gifted songwriter. She’s also a classically-trained pianist who also plays guitar and she’s only been singing publicly since the start of this year. Anyway, I was totally blown away by Amy’s soulful songs and powerful vocals and I’ve been telling people about her ever since that gig. I would love to say that I spotted the reflection of the earring on Amy’s cheekbone that completes the picture, but I didn’t spot that until it was on the 28” monitor. I’ve seen her several times since then in all sorts of venues and she’s nailed it every time. You should give her a listen; I suspect she’ll be doing a lot of gigs in 2023.
