“Elephant” by Obey Robots features on our album “One In A Thousand”, out 24th February 2023 and available here.
Someone said the thumbnail of this video makes me look like I’m in an episode of Doctor Who, and I am here for that.
VIDEO CREDITS Directed, shot and edited by Laura Kidd. Filmed in the corner of Rat’s messy attic in the Midlands and in the middle of Laura’s messy home studio in Bristol. Luna tried to get on camera, but it wasn’t the right time. Can you spot her in this one though?
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.
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.
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
“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!
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.
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
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?
When I decided to bring my She Makes War project to a close at the end of 2019, I created this eight-track retrospective featuring fan favourites from all four She Makes War albums. These songs were lovingly re-recorded in a stripped-back, intimate fashion in my home studio The Launchpad.
As I wrote at the time of release, “I want to celebrate a decade of independent music-making with the community who have encouraged me throughout the years. Iām so proud of the music Iāve made so far and so thankful for your ears and hearts! I put the choice of songs to a public vote in the summer, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend some time creating these new arrangements for you. Thank you x”
I released my debut album āDisarmā under the name She Makes War in September 2010. Iād been collecting the songs together for a couple of years, gradually focusing my mind, building my confidence and getting ever closer to making the music that was playing in my head a reality, a tangible thing others could listen to. Little did I imagine what adventures those songs would take me on, but Iāve enjoyed travelling around the world watching them take on a life of their own ever since.
As the fifth anniversary of Disarm came closer I started making plans to revisit some of the songs, tenderly reworking the tracks that feel the most resonant to my current self, and the ones I felt would benefit from a different sonic approach.
After releasing my third album āDirection Of Travelā I felt it was high time to roll up my sleeves and tackle songs from my debut that never fully realised their potential. Itās about wisdom and hindsight, I suppose.
As Kierkegaard said, āLife can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.ā
“Featuring the iconic guitar sound of Rat (Nedās Atomic Dustbin) and the compassionate melodic arrangements of Laura Kidd (Penfriend / She Makes War), “Not The Quiet Type” implores the listener to stop chasing perfection and step fully into themselves and their perceived imperfections.”
No experience is truly wasted. Try, fail and try again. Be yourself, fall in love, get it all terribly wrong and get back up.
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. All lyrics, arrangements, vocals, bass, and synths by Laura. All guitars by Rat. Drums by Max Saidi.
LYRICS
Goodbye, a little sigh Sticking fingers in my eyes Out of time, out of sight So I’ll try another night
I won’t regret all the hours that I spent I’m not here to make amends I am not the quiet type
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart Weāll stick it back together
Am I being interesting? Turning cheek and fighting spin? Finding comfort in my skin? Imperfectionās always in
I won’t regret all the hours that I spent I’m not here to make amends No, Iām not the quiet type!
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart Weāll stick it back together
Destruction makes us stronger We will always get it wrong So fall to pieces, fall apart Then get back up
Destruction makes me stronger I will always do my best So fall to pieces, fall in love Weāll stick it back together
From 2009-2019 I made music under the name She Makes War, releasing 4 and a bit solo albums and playing nearly 600 shows.
“Brace For Impact” was the final full-length She Makes War album, released on 5th October 2018. Funded through Pledge Music and the generosity of music fans, it reached #15 in the Independent Album Chart and narrowly missed out on a top 100 placing in the Official Albums Chart. It was all very exciting for this indie artist!
As I said at the time, āIāve never wanted to wait around for the old guard to validate and endorse me ā my whole career has been about making the art I want to and finding a way to get it to people.ā āIām here to share my stories and show my audience I hear and see them too. Itās human nature, to want to know youāre not alone.ā
In April 2022 I spent a week in the Setubal area of Portugal, travelling up to my beloved Lisbon for several day trips. One breakfast time, after reading about the cavaquinho, an ancestor of the ukulele, I decided to go on a musical treasure hunt to find an instrument to play my song “Seashaken” on – by the sea.
