➡️ This performance was live-streamed on Saturday 10th June 2023 as a test of the Boss Gigcaster 8 – huge thanks to Roland/Boss for the gift!
➡️ This song appears on my debut album “Disarm”, released in 2010 under the name She Makes War. Browse my back catalogue at http://shop.penfriend.rocks
Subscribe to my channel for more xo
Welcome to episode 2 of my Creative Spaces series!
I met Ryan Hamilton online recently after his album release plan went very wrong…and I thought to balance out the industry kerfuffle we should have a deep chat about creativity, music recording and how your space can affect your work. So we did!
We talk about how easy it is to record your own music, which three things Ryan considers essential for recording, where songs come from and the magic word to use in your lyrics to bump up your streaming numbers 🤣.
Ryan also talks about Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, and the story behind “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”…and there’s even a cameo from Justin Hawkins!
Watch more “Creative Spaces” videos here, and subscribe to my channel for more xo
In September 2021 I was burned out and feeling super sad – so I decided I had to do something completely different. A one-off surf lesson led to my first outdoor swim…and in October 2022 I found myself in Marseille!
Subscribe to see future videos x
➡️ Places I mention in this video:
The Wave, Bristol – aka “man-made wave…place”
Swimming locations shown:
Clevedon Marine Lake
Cromhall Quarry (Gloucestershire)
Dosthill Quarry (Tamworth)
Lake 32 (Cotswold Water Park, Wiltshire)
Praia da Rainha, Cascais, Portugal
(I also swam in Estoril…more on that in a future video)
Vivienne Rickman runs regular wild swimming experiences in Snowdonia – I highly recommend!
In Marseille I swam at:
Calanque de Podestat
Calanque de Sormiou
Plage du Prado
And I stayed at L’Appartement in Sormiou which is where I met my gorgeous guard dog friend Oknit.
I’ve never understood why artists shy away from setting up an email list. Musicians, photographers, visual artists, writers – if you’re serious about sharing your work online, it’s WAY more effective to set up a website and an email list than posting on social media.
And if you’re a fan of people who do those things – please sign up to their lists!
If I hadn’t set up my mailing list in 2009 and invited people onto it regularly ever since, I simply wouldn’t have a full-time job making my own music. It’s that life-changing.
Seth Werkheiser and I met online a while ago, and I immediately knew we were on the same page with this stuff. His HEAVY METAL EMAIL is always useful and fun to read, so I invited him to nerd out / share exasperated facial expressions about email marketing with me.
Enjoy – and please ask any questions in the comments section. I’d be very happy to go deeper into how I do things in future videos so let me know what you’d like to see xo
My new album is OUT NOW – so I thought it was time for a chat about what happens in the weeks after a big success at work, plus what’s next for this channel and for my music-making.
I went to Rough Trade Nottingham in search of our Obey Robots album and found this instead!
Art by Niaski.
With hat tips to ace records by Sleaford Mods, Public Service Broadcasting and Self Esteem – click the links for podcast episodes with the last two 😎
Obey Robots is a creative collaboration between myself – Laura Kidd (Penfriend / She Makes War) – and Rat (Ned’s Atomic Dustbin).
Our album “One In A Thousand” was released on 24th February 2023 and went into the Official UK Albums Chart at #14 and the Official Independent Chart at #1 the following week.
–> BUY YOUR COPY DIRECT and support independent music making!
This is fan power in action: we shared the album through emails, videos and social media. No press, no pluggers, no manager, label or agent.
Thank you for being part of this very exciting time!
“Albert Camus believed that the individual could change society.
Kafka believed that society was too strong for that.
The problem is, Kafka never listened to Obey Robots.”
This is the absolute pinnacle of album releasing for me – Jimmy Watkins is a poet. I’ve never felt my work so well understood as when he runs along shouting into the camera, bursting with love and enthusiasm.
“Vocals shoot overhead like fighter jets – it’s like the Red Arrows turning up to your birthday party!”
“This is music rich in the confidence of their own skill…it’s fearless…it’s great for running to!”
“It’s kind of like having a rainbow in your spare bedroom.”
“This album really feels like optimism in the face of oblivion.”
Watch me and Rat learn about the chart success of our collaborative album “One In A Thousand” – a HUGE win for independent artists and independently-minded music fans everywhere!
THANK YOU SO MUCH xxx
Rat and I talked to the very lovely Diamond Dave from TotalRock about how the pandemic affected the emotional core of our album “One In A Thousand”, as well as how we recorded it, I talk about why I’m SO super DIY and Dave quizzes us on our touring plans…
Listen to the full interview here.
