Finding space to be creative – whether that’s a physical space, a time of day or just a mindset – is so powerful.
In the first of a new video series, I discuss different ways of writing songs, and gaining confidence through home recording with Rat, guitarist from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and my duo Obey Robots!
Huge thanks Cassie Fox from LOUD WOMEN for inviting me onto Louder Than War radio to talk about the new Obey Robots record, my thoughts on DIY music and the power of story in sharing music.
Huge thanks also to Charley Stone for asking such excellent questions!
ā”ļø Listen to the full show here.
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Read “How to be a successful DIY artist” by Kim Boekbinder here and check out her music here.
Taut and propulsive, āElephantā marries the pop nouse of XTC with the stop-start dynamics of 00’s post-hardcore mainstays Hundred Reasons before opening up into the kind of shimmering chorus that would have shot Obey Robots to MTV stardom had it been the 90’s.
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Pre-order the Obey Robots album “One In A Thousand” now and receive this track PLUS four more immediately.
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Shop limited edition vinyl, signed CDs, cassettes, tees, hoodies, lyric books and guitar pick tins.
SONG CREDITS
Produced by Laura Kidd.
Mixed by Chris Sheldon. Mastered by Katie Tavini.
All music by Laura Kidd and Rat, all lyrics and arrangements by Laura Kidd. All vocals and bass by Laura, all guitars by Rat. Drums by Max Saidi.
Ratās guitars recorded by Dan Austin. All other instruments recorded by Laura in The Launchpad, Bristol.
Single artwork by Laura Kidd, robot illustration by Alex Tillbrook.
LYRICS
Newspaper shouts that weāve had enough
The radio says weāre all out of love
Donāt let them take what you worked hard for
Slaving away for your family
Thereās nothing left for the strangers who bleed
Hold tight to the things that you value
Thank your lucky stars
Look to the future
Thereās freedom in guitars
We try to get it right
Fight the forces on the other side
Just a little longer
Unbandaging our eyes
Count the seconds as they crystallise
Itās just a little further
The government says weāre overrun
They get a break while you soldier on
Cos you donāt have the life that you deserve
Youāre working hard for your family
Thereās nothing else, you believe what you read
This wasnāt given to you on a plate
Donāt politicise
Stick to the music
Dance for a little while
Always scraping the barrel
Parroting lines
Iāve never felt so angry
We try to get it right
Fight the forces on the other side
Just a little longer
Unbandaging our eyes
Count the seconds as they crystallise
Itās just a little further
Weāre wasting time
Donāt want to feel so bad
Weāre wasting time
And it was all we had
We try to get it right
Fight the forces on the other side
Just a little longer
Unbandaging our eyes
Count the seconds as they crystallise
Itās just a little further
We try to get it right
Fight the forces on the other side
Just a little longer
Unbandaging our eyes
Losing hours as they hypnotise
Itās always a little further than we can
Hang out with me as I write the verse lyrics for the Obey Robots song “Porcupine” with a little help from my faithful friend Wikipedia! A little bit of research goes a long way, and you never know what useful things you might learn.
I’m a porcupine!
“Porcupine” features on the Obey Robots album “One In A Thousand”, out 24th February 2023 and available here.
PS the last few “I’m a Porcupine” tees are for sale here
“Porcupine” by Obey Robots features on our album “One In A Thousand”, out 24th February 2023 and available here.
The only reviews I care about are from music fans…here are some words on “Porcupine”:
“Damned fine. Catchy, driving tune allied to pleasingly daft day-go visuals” – author Ian Rankin
ā90s guitar mated with 80s synth to make a 2023 musical gem of a baby. love it.ā – TheHousePanther
āan absolute hoot!ā – Jo
āYou Robots know how to party!ā – Joe
āAwesome riff, hilarious video, cracking song! Love it!!! ā – Gary
āSO FUN! Love this!ā – Wendy
āKiller riff, great vocal, and a hugely fun video to go with them. Well played, again. This album is going to be a belter.ā – Matt
āPink wafers for the win.ā – PupGeorge
āThat was absolutely bonkers and I love it!ā – Vince
āWhat fabulous nonsense! I will practice dance moves for any live performance you put on – even if I’m not attendingā – Shane
āevery part of this is utterly delightful!ā – Dan
āI am a porcupine!ā – Jez
THANK YOU
I’d had this video idea in mind for months, and when it came time to make it a reality the timing was perfect.
New Year, new outlook. It was time to throw off the bad bits of 2022 and be as utterly silly as we liked. Who cares?
I’m a porcupine! You’re a porcupine!
The song is about defensiveness (particularly on the internet); our seemingly innate urge to throw up our spikes right away to defend ourselves by caricaturing the opposition, magnified by addictive media.
We’re told “there’s nothing new under the sun”…bring me another song containing the words “erethizontidae” and “hystricidae” accompanied by a video featuring a cardboard robot party in the local village hall and I’ll agree with you!
PS the last few “I’m a Porcupine” tees are for sale here.
VIDEO CREDITS
Directed and edited by Laura Kidd
DOP – Sarah Smither
Camera and lighting assistant – Miles McDowell
Set photography, porcupine creation and general wonderfulness – Tim Bailey
Costumes by Rat & Laura (obviously!)
Filmed at Shirehampton Public Hall, Bristol
SONG CREDITS
Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol.
Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton.
All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. Guitars by Rat.
All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass and synths by Laura.
Drums by Max Saidi.
Originally released in December 2020, āLet It Snowā wasnāt just the first Obey Robots single, it was the first song we completed (in December 2020!).
It was a test:
-> can we make music together?
-> do we love what we made?
-> does anyone want to hear it?
If the answer to the first two questions had been ānoā, you would never have heard of Obey Robots. And if the answer to the second question was āyesā, the answer to the third question would never stop me anyway.
Happily, the answer to the second question was HELL YES! – and the overwhelmingly positive response from music fans was the icing on the cake. A cake full of riffs! 
For this new video, I decided to invite you in to get a sense of what the collaboration process was like for Rat and I.
By December 2020 weād only met in person twice, so all communication was by email and occasional Zoom calls. We were always speaking from our individual creative spaces, which I think helped us both to feel more confident talking to someone we didnāt know that well.
I got so used to seeing Rat on my computer screen that it still surprises me when we meet up – heās very tall!
Most of the video was shot using Quicktime player. Weāve all grown perhaps too familiar with the particular quality of footage you get on video calls, so I wanted to retain that to bring you right into the middle of things.
All the footage up to the instrumental was shot individually and separately: me in my home studio, Rat in his. And then – well, I donāt want to ruin the plot twist, youāll just have to watch!
Being creative doesnāt require fancy equipment or a big team of people. You can achieve a lot with just an idea, some basic gear and the drive to complete something. Thatās how our album was made, and how everything else weāre sharing is being made. Thatās how Iāve always worked.
This is real people making real music about real things. I hope you enjoy it.
Love,
Laura xo
-> PRE-ORDER “One In A Thousand” by Obey Robots now – out on 24th February 2023! You’ll receive four songs immediately, with another beaming into your inbox before the album release.
Thank you for supporting independent music!
A snoozy day, punctuated by washing piles of soft furnishings and spraying the entire house with Indorex. Surprise baths for reluctant pooches. Flea and worming tablets doled out a few days early. All just in case…but I had a feeling. Just writing about the thought of it makes my skin prickle. Ugh.
I’m still “off work”. I fell ill mid-November after going to see my first gig since 2019 (Gary Barlow’s one-man show – brilliant), so the end of year go-slow started early, but then, in early December – Covid. First-time Covid. Game over.
Unable to do much, I’m in rest and research mode: reading, writing, watching videos on topics that pique my interest. Today I watched videos about field recording and how to sample your own sounds, and made a list of the music production techniques I want to learn and practise in 2023.
Spurred into action, I bring my Zoom H6 recorder down from the studio for a cleanup. Since I paused my podcast this time last year I’ve rarely used it, and the machine has responded to its neglect by letting some batteries fizz and melt in their compartment. Cheers.
I bought a vat of white vinegar a while back for occasions such as these, but it’s probably in the shed, and it’s raining out, so I look for the next best thing. I waver between cider apple vinegar and white wine vinegar, and go for the latter to avoid staining. It works.
Rest is essential (I read that all the time), and I’m enjoying my cosy sofa duvet nest, but I’m starting to feel restless. I haven’t felt itching-to-get-started for months: overwhelmed, stuck and hopeless are three words that sum up much of my 2022. I’m finally starting to feel excited about making things again.
I think it’s because I’ve managed to stay away from external distractions long enough to hear the quiet voice inside urging me onto new and old topics of interest: field recording, sampling, cardboard art. Sculpting with air drying clay. Creating dioramas in boxes and box frames. Blogging! Twitter hasn’t been a satisfying place to write in YEARS and I still love reading (and writing) blog posts. Consider this one a statement of intent.
I’ve signed up for a Cartoons and Comics evening class in town. I’m thinking about creating sample packs using sounds from my solo albums so far. Instead of reminding myself of all the things I didn’t manage to do in 2022 and dragging them all along with me, I’m starting a fresh new list for 2023.
My break includes my YouTube channel: after successfully uploading videos for 52 weeks in a row I’ve stepped back to ponder my next move. I want everything I do to be part of a coherent world I create – I don’t want a hugely successful YouTube channel about cheese, delicious as that may be. It’s a fun challenge to make videos that fit with what I already make, packaging them with the right thumbnail and title to pique the interest of viewers who might not know me yet, as well as those who do.
A phrase pops into my mind, a fresh direction for the year ahead: “adventures in sound and songwriting”. That sounds like a fun year.
Will you join me? xx
A song about the cognitive dissonance of feeling āsuper connectedā: supposedly informed and part of a community via social media, yet deluded if we think typing words into a little box is enough to show empathy to people in very different situations to our own comfort. āIf weāre super connected, why arenāt we all floating in the sea?ā
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Pre-order the Obey Robots album “One In A Thousand” now and receive this track PLUS “Not The Quiet Type” immediately PLUS a new song in your inbox every six weeks leading up to the release date of 24th February 2022.
ā
Shop limited edition vinyl, signed CDs, cassettes, tees, hoodies, lyric books and guitar pick tins.
VIDEO CREDITS
Directed and edited by Laura Kidd.
DOP – Sarah Smither.
Right-hand woman + set photography – Charlie Romijn
Set assistants/extras – Megan Green, Leanne Bond & Kit Crew-Gee
Set photographer – Kate Feast
Shot at Boom Satsuma, Bristol. Huge thanks to Freya Billington, Phil Zikking and David Neal.
SONG CREDITS
Produced by Laura Kidd in The Launchpad, Bristol.
Mixed by Chris Sheldon at Red Cedar, London, mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle, Brighton.
All music by Laura Kidd and Rat. Guitars by Rat. All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass, synths, drum programming and lead guitar by Laura.
LYRICS
I drew a target on the back of my neck
Cos some are more equal than others
Disaster junkies scrape bottomless feeds
As long as their self-satisfactionās guaranteed
We hold on to life, like everyone tries
If weāre super connected
Why arenāt we all floating in the sea?
Stuck with myself, I run for my health
Cos these pretty flowers can kill you
Send bottles downstream in an alkaloid dream
Share in this delusion where no-one hears you scream
We hold on to life, like everyone tries
If weāre super connected
Why arenāt we all floating in the sea?
We hold on to life, like everyone tries
If weāre super connected
Why arenāt we all floating in the sea?
Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.
Have a lovely day! xo
“Exit Strategy” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.
This song originally appeared on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War – vinyl and CD versions are available in my shop.
At the end of 2011 I assembled a temporary band of superstars in their own right to showcase four songs from my upcoming second album “Little Battles”. We spent a whole day filming on the Lightship95 music studio inside a pink boat moored on the River Thames, and this is one of the songs we played.
Band members:
Annie Gardiner – bass
Dana Jade / Ms Mohammed – guitar
Tom Gardiner – drums
Video shot so beautifully by Ed Christmas, edited by Laura Kidd.
Audio recorded and mixed by Jarrad Hearman, mastered by Ian Shepherd.
š¶ Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.
Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.
Have a lovely day! xo
“Please Don’t” performed live on vocals, guitar and violin at Ort Cafe, Birmingham, 24th March 2015.
This song appears on my 2016 album “Direction Of Travel”, released under the name She Makes War.
Violin by Simon Goff.
Recorded by Dan Hayward, mixed and mastered by Jay Chakravorty. Video by Blacklight Productions.
š¶ Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.
Join my mailing list for free songs and stories, subscribe here for future videos and get involved from the start of Penfriend album #2 by joining The Correspondent’s Club.
Have a lovely day! xo
