“Butterflies” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.
This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.
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: Milly McGregor – violin Dr Kat Arney – harp
Video shot so beautifully by Ed Christmas, edited by Laura Kidd. Audio recorded and mixed by Jarrad Hearman, mastered by Ian Shepherd.
The day is finally here! I’m delighted to invite you to browse the Obey Robots “One In A Thousand” pre-order extravaganza for limited edition coloured vinyl, CDs, cassettes, hardback books, guitar pick tins, tees and hoodies.
Order “One In A Thousand” today and be the first to get “Not The Quiet Type” as an immediate download, plus a new song sent to your inbox every six weeks leading up to the album release date of 24th February 2023.
Rat says – “I never thought I’d be sitting here again saying the words “we’ve got an album coming out” – and I can’t tell you how utterly amazing it feels to say just those words, knowing what both of us have been through over the last three years.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done this, and I had to do a lot of soul searching about whether I wanted to do this again.
I can’t say that I have any words to describe this.”
I say – “The title track “One In A Thousand” sums up the album.
In a potentially very disconnected and lonely world, I hold onto the idea that every single one of us can hold a valuable place in our communities, offering the best of ourselves and receiving love and support in return.
Instead of clawing our way up to a lonely pedestal to be one in a million, we can stand together and be one in a thousand.
I hope you’ll join our friendly robot army.”
Launching new music into the world always brings a mess of emotions with it, and I really can’t thank you enough for your support.
“In This Boat” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.
This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.
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.
In June 2021 I quit social media for 30 days…and it helped me sleep better for a whole year.
When I released my album “Exotic Monsters” in May 2021 I was burned out. Musicians can end up spending a lot of time online promoting their work, and I needed a rest.
Social media has been a really great space for me to meet music fans and make all sorts of interesting connections since I started blogging in 2004 and tweeting in 2007, but in recent years it feels like it’s all got a bit too much. Do you agree?
The tactics of the attention engineers employed by those big companies to keep us stuck to our phones seem to have got more aggressive over time, and I’ve personally felt embarrassment, guilt and shame about my sometime phone addiction.
Sign up here to receive exclusive early access to the Obey Robots album pre-order on October 4th and also be the first to hear the new music (existing mailing list subscribers don’t need to sign up again).
In 2019, I received an exciting email from Miles Hunt of The Wonder Stuff, asking if I’d be interested in writing some music with Rat from Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. Having first heard “Kill Your Television” on a mixtape in 1997, I was over the moon to discover that Rat had stumbled across my work on a YouTube binge – and a new collaboration was born.
Various roadblocks soon cropped up, meaning the journey between that first email and this exciting day has not been easy – but we made it.
In this new video I talk about the importance of keeping going, even when you want to quit (and oh, did I want to quit!), and how proud I am that we finished this record. I can’t wait for you to hear it!
Fewer than 30 copies of the Obey Robots 7″ vinyl “Let It Snow / Inside Out” remain – get yours here.
As I reach the end of the mixing process for my upcoming Obey Robots album, I compare the Flare Audio E-Prototype earphones with my trusty Shure SE21 and Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro.
As a bonus, I always enjoy an opportunity to mention my life’s dream of collaborating with Liam Howlett / The Prodigy. Liam, let’s talk!
“Minefields” performed live on the Lightship95 music studio boat on the River Thames, November 2011.
This song appears on my 2012 album “Little Battles”, released under the name She Makes War.
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.
What a dream – three fierce solo artists and a brilliant drummer sharing a stage. I’m so glad we captured these memories.
This is your invitation to directly support the creation of new music. To join a genuinely supportive online community, to receive thoughtful, lovingly made limited edition art and music bundles, to be part of shaping the future of my Penfriend project, and to be treated like the VIP music fan you already are.
As I embark upon the writing and recording of my second album as Penfriend, I’ve just opened up some new tiers in my Correspondent’s Club membership – and I’d love for you to join us.
Visit this page to browse all the options, and keep reading to find out how this incredibly supportive group of people have completely changed my life as an independent artist.
In 2009 I started tentatively sharing my music on the internet – and I was immediately blown away by the generosity of music fans around the world, people who were excited to sidestep the corporate music industry and directly support this independent artist.
Are you familiar with the term “patron of the arts”? It’s nothing new; artists have been funded by patrons for centuries, and it makes sense – we all have something unique to bring to our communities, offline and online, and it was a real turning point in my life when I realised that being an artist, making music and videos and podcasts and zines and whatever else – that could be my worthwhile contribution to the community.
I funded the recording, mixing, mastering and manufacturing of my first four albums through pre-orders and crowdfunding campaigns – and then, at the end of 2018, a company called Pledge Music folded, taking £6000 of my money with them.
I was furious. Not just because I needed that money to make my next album, but because the whole thing was so disrespectful to my supporters.
(I fulfilled all the pledges anyway, obviously.)
I grew up really resisting the concept of rockstars, those people we’re meant to put on a pedestal and treat as the super special ones. That never resonated with me. So, realising there was another path, a path I could make for myself where I could be a normal person – well, sort of normal – realising that I could flip all that on its head and find more ways to contribute to my community? That was huge for me.
Instead of saying “look at me, aren’t I great, shiny shiny ads, buy my music!”, I could say “here, I made this with love, I hope it helps in some way”. That’s what music does for me, whether I’m processing my thoughts and experiences through making it, or when I find music by other artists that tips my world upside down.
Music = magic.
So, at the start of 2019 I launched my Supersub Club, and in 2020 I renamed it The Correspondent’s Club. It changed my life. From juggling freelance video and social media jobs with comment moderation shifts at a national newspaper (hi trolls!), I was suddenly free to spend all my time making music and videos and podcasts and zines and whatever else. Over and above making music, I could finally spend my time encouraging others in their own creative dreams.
I went into overdrive, producing 50 episodes of my creativity podcast Attention Engineer, completing my debut Penfriend album “Exotic Monsters”, delivering quarterly art and music bundles to my dear subscribers and starting my YouTube channel in earnest.
I’ve always been a grafter, and I’ve never thought that producing 12 songs every 18 months was enough of a job for me.
There was a time around 2015-2017 when I flirted with the idea of teaming up in some way with “the music industry”, bringing my music and my community and my knowhow onto a bigger stage. All that resulted in was money wasted on PR companies who didn’t stand a chance of getting coverage for an indie upstart like me, radio pluggers who get paid whether or not they get your songs played, and time and energy wasted on a manager who didn’t seem to want to do any actual work.
Giving up on that industry mirage was empowering. No more waiting around. No more crossing fingers. No more hoping someone would come along and make everything bigger, better, easier.
I already told you, I’m not afraid of hard work.
In 2021, my first Penfriend album “Exotic Monsters” went to number 24 in the UK Official Albums chart – without the help of any of the things musicians are told are essential.
I didn’t even post on TikTok.
This momentous thing, this lifetime dream come true only happened because people who like real music about real things chose to buy my album on vinyl, CD, tape and download. And the album only exists the way it does because my Correspondent’s Club members funded it right from the start of its creation in early 2019.
It’s normal to feel disconnected from things these days, but just like your local independently run cafe continuing to stay open because you and your friends go back again and again, I get to keep making music and videos and podcasts and zines and whatever because people like you subscribe, or buy music and merch from my shop or, in the not too distant future, buy tickets to come and see me play in your town.
I do all of this all by myself, with full-time cheerleading and occasional camera holding from my husband Tim. There are no middle persons involved, no team, no manager, label, agent or anything else.
It’s a lot, but I prefer it this way – I don’t have to try to become a supermarket in the centre of town and feel like a failure when I don’t “make it”.
I’m an artisan, small batch producer of music filled with love and care and hope, that I transmit to you in whatever form you prefer, be that vinyl, CD or digital file.
It’s really tough out there at the moment, and I’m feeling it too – but alongside my paid offerings I will always keep making things that are free for you to enjoy.
I’d love to welcome you into The Correspondent’s Club either today or in the future, but whichever way we stay in touch – I’m really thankful for being able to spend a bit of time with you.
Browse my entire back catalogue – She Makes War and Penfriend – here.
