Allman Brown
Allman Brown is back with his brand-new EP Sons And Daughters; which not only sees him team up with Liz Lawrence but also deliver music that is unlike anything that we have heard from him before.
We caught up with the singer/songwriter to chat about the new collection of tracks, working with Liz Lawrence and what lies ahead.
- Your new EP Sons And Daughters has just been released so what can fans expect from the new tracks?
It is a bit of step forward in terms of musicality, and I think that it is also a step away from the really really poppy stuff that I was doing a year and a half ago. The title track is with another great artist Liz Lawrence; we wrote the track together.
So this is a bit more of a back to basics approach both production wise and music wise. I am much happier with these songs than the other songs because I think that these do represent me more than the other songs.
- That does lead me into my next question. This is quite a change in sound from when we heard you last so I was wondering why you had moved away from the pop sound? This does seem to be a sound that you are more comfortable with.
With the first record, I had a production deal, and I was in a studio that was primarily pop based, and it was my first experience of being in a studio.
I didn’t compromise myself or led on by the people I was involved with - I really enjoyed working with those people, and I had a good time - but I wasn’t confident enough to say to them, and myself, that I preferred to do music that was a little less pop based.
So I made a conscious effort to really listen to myself this time and write something that I would compare to other artists that I enjoy. I didn’t want to try so hard to write a pop hit, basically.
- The track Sons And Daughters sees you team up with the fantastic Liz Lawrence so how did that collaboration come about?
I met Liz at a gig in The Lock Tavern in Camden. I started to play, and I was just captivated by her performance. I approached her afterwards and asked her if she would like to write a song together - thankfully she said yes.
- How did you find working with her? And how did you find that your song-writing styles worked together?
To be honest, I was very happy. It is a really weird thing to go and write a song with someone - musicians do it all the time - as you go into a room, and then you have to write it together.
It can be a very awkward scenario as you don’t really know these people straight away, and you have to get to know them and form a relationship before you can come up with something that you think is good.
With Liz, I just played some chords, and she had some lyrics that she really liked - it is the very first lyric of the song ‘I will hold you tight like the moon in the arms of the sky’.
I really liked that lyric and just played some chords. I said that I would really like to write a song about a house. I was really happy because I was prepared for all sorts of problems; it just seemed to happen.
- I was wondering if the co-writing process was something that you enjoy? I talk to a lot of musicians, and some only write on their own, others just write with other people and some like a mix of the two?
Again, I think that it just depends who you are writing with as it can get quite prickly. There is the creative and the business side to music, and it is the co-writing where it can get prickly in terms of percentages.
For every musician that can be the unpleasant side; that’s why musicians tend to stick with writers that they really like because they have a good relationship with them and a good business relationship.
From a creative stand-point I find it very enriching because it is good to have someone to throw ideas off. I really enjoy co-writing and, so far, it has been a really good experience for me. The more people in the room who are talented, the odds are you will probably come out with something good.
- This is a sad and yet very uplifting track all at the same time. So how did you manage to capture and bring together those two opposing emotions in one track?
I am glad you say that because singer-songwriters are often accused of writing sad songs (laughs). Someone said that it is harder to write a happy song than a sad song.
I just really wanted to write a song about a house, and the emotions that you have in a house; if you go into buildings that you don’t live you get a sense of what they are like, and a feeling. I just wanted to capture that.
It was one of the few times where the version in your head matches the version that came out.
I think that that was a mix of happy chance as well as being ruthless in writing lyrics; if we wrote anything that sounded a bit off or a bit cheesy we were quite quick to say ‘that doesn’t work let’s try to come up with something different.'
- How have you found the response to the tracks so far?
When I have played the tracks to people or have been playing them live the response has been much better than my older tracks - not that people didn’t’ like my other tracks.
People have been coming up to me after gigs and posting online messages and YouTube comments; that has been lovely. The video that I did for the song has also been getting a much better response than the last two videos that I have done.
It has paid off to take a new approach to what I am trying to produce and get out there. So the response, for me, has been really gratifying.
- I was reading that you are planning to release another EP after this, so when can we expect? And how is going to compare to Sons And Daughters in terms of its sound?
In terms of release date, I am not sure as we are going to see what happens with Sons And Daughters, and then I will release this next one.
Sound wise it is going to be another quite different EP as I have written a lot of songs with a Canadian artist. It is moving more into electric guitars, and it is less conventional; it is not like I am singing through a vocoder and playing an accordion (laughs).
But it is a bit more ethereal and a bit more in line with artists whom I really love like Bon Iver.
I would like to keep producing some slightly different things; which is another reason why it is nice to co-write with different people as it does keep you on your toes. It is more fun for me to push myself and give people something different.
- You are very involved with the producing side of the music that you make, so how important is that for you?
That has become increasingly more important for me; it’s only a recent development as all of those tracks on the EP are produced by Ian Barter. I am very lucky that we get on really well as he allows me to put in my two cents when it comes to producing.
There’s all sorts of technology in a studio, that I don’t know anything about, and so I just stand there and tell him what I would like to get done, and he magically does it.
I think it is important for every artist to be deeply involved in the production of their songs. I did have a tendency to allow my older producers - who I love - just do it; I think that was because I was new to the game, and I was slightly in awe of what production was.
- And what about releasing a full album? Is that in your plans somewhere?
I would love to release a full album. At the moment, I am just trying to find management, and this EP is just testing the waters of what is out there.
I have met lots of people, and I have done some exciting things and some dull things, but what I need now is a more streamlined approach to tackle the business side of the industry.
The creative side is going well, but I need someone to give me some guidance. So in terms of releasing an album, I think that it will be sometime next year.
- You are also going to be playing at Old St Pancras Church later this month so what can people with a ticket expect from the gig?
I am really looking forward to that show. I think that they can just expect a lovely gig as it is one of the best venues in London. I will be singing with a good friend of mine called Evelyn Burke and Sophie Jamieson will be there as well; I have just released a song on my SoundCloud with her.
It is just a wonderful venue, and I would encourage anyone to go there all the time as it is a beautiful venue to go and see some great music.
- So where did your love of music start? And is this the career that you always saw yourself having?
Not at all. I was at school; I was seven, and they were doing auditions for the Chorus Pavalorum (laughs), and I went to the back of the queue. But my music teacher brought me to the front of the queue, and I couldn’t believe that I could actually sing. I was in choirs for ten years - in one shape of form.
And then when I was at university, I taught myself guitar and started to write songs. It my sound a bit cheesy but it just makes me very happy, and I thought that I would investigate that.
- Finally, what is next for you going through the second half of this year?
Second half of this year is definitely writing more and just having the songs ready to go. I also want to play more gigs but also play bigger gigs.
So I want to get a booking agent and just get a higher profile because that is what you have to do as a young musician; you need to be out there and playing to as many people as possible.
Allman Brown - Sons And Daughter EP is out now.