Two days ago a member of my online gig audience asked why the sea has been a recurring theme in my music since I wrote my first water-based song “Scared To Capsize” in 2008.
“I think there’s so much rich metaphor in waves, and depth, and sailing, and stuff…”
Deep.
It’s Bandcamp Day* – hooray! – and I’m celebrating by sharing a FREE / pay what you can live album of all my sea-themed songs, performed live on the internet on the 4th anniversary of the Penfriend launch^!
13 audio tracks, 8 songs, 1 “Gremlin interlude” and a lot of love.
I performed 8 songs that mention the sea in some fashion, PLUS had a chance to answer your burning questions, including:
• what’s my choice of ice cream flavour? • am I sand or pebbles when it comes to beaches? • if I could only visit one beach ever again, which would it be?
and
• did I *really* swim in the sea at Blackpool last week?!!!
* This album is FREE / pay what you can for the next 10 days only AND today is Bandcamp Day, so all proceeds come directly to me instead of paying the platform.
^ This sort of thing makes me appear incredibly organised, but was in fact a complete fluke.
Thank you for your support – have a wonderful weekend!
Love, Laura xxx
NEXT
I’m proud and very thankful to be a fully fan-funded artist, so if you’d like to stay involved and continue to support the making of new music, writing and videos:
❤️ Get immediate access to my entire digital archive (close to 200 tracks!) plus additional ongoing Member Perks by joining The Correspondent’s Club on Patreon!
The life of a new song, something to dance to, plus a 20-page zine Q&A with photos and studio recording notes.
The only way to get access to future Correspondent’s Club releases is to become a member – browse member perks here.
Track listing:
1. Life Of The Party (rehearsal) 2. Pearlescent Brilliant Sporty Blue (posh demo) 3. Life Of The Party (posh demo) 4. Life Of The Party (phone performance)
Four brand new Penfriend demos, written as part of the recent Laura Veirs x School Of Song workshop series, plus a 24 page zine of thoughts, feelings and photos.
The only way to get access to future Correspondent’s Club releases is to become a member – browse member perks here.
Track listing:
1. The Dust And The Dark (demo) 2. Survival Information (demo) 3. Hold Tight (demo) 4. In The Light Sometimes (demo)
“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.
NEXT
I’m proud and very thankful to be a fully fan-funded artist, so if you’d like to stay involved and continue to support the making of new music, writing and videos:
❤️ Get immediate access to my entire digital archive (close to 200 tracks!) plus additional ongoing Member Perks by joining The Correspondent’s Club on Patreon!
Taut and propulsive, “Elephant” 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.
Rat’s 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 we’ve had enough The radio says we’re all out of love Don’t let them take what you worked hard for Slaving away for your family There’s nothing left for the strangers who bleed Hold tight to the things that you value
Thank your lucky stars Look to the future There’s 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 It’s just a little further
The government says we’re overrun They get a break while you soldier on Cos you don’t have the life that you deserve You’re working hard for your family There’s nothing else, you believe what you read This wasn’t given to you on a plate
Don’t politicise Stick to the music Dance for a little while Always scraping the barrel Parroting lines I’ve 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 It’s just a little further
We’re wasting time Don’t want to feel so bad We’re 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 It’s 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 It’s always a little further than we can
NEXT
I’m proud and very thankful to be a fully fan-funded artist, so if you’d like to stay involved and continue to support the making of new music, writing and videos:
❤️ Get immediate access to my entire digital archive (close to 200 tracks!) plus additional ongoing Member Perks by joining The Correspondent’s Club on Patreon!
“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
“90s guitar mated with 80s synth to make a 2023 musical gem of a baby. love it.” – TheHousePanther
“an absolute hoot!” – Jo
“You Robots know how to party!” – Joe
“Awesome riff, hilarious video, cracking song! Love it!!! “ – Gary
“SO FUN! Love this!” – Wendy
“Killer riff, great vocal, and a hugely fun video to go with them. Well played, again. This album is going to be a belter.” – Matt
“Pink wafers for the win.” – PupGeorge
“That was absolutely bonkers and I love it!” – Vince
“What fabulous nonsense! I will practice dance moves for any live performance you put on – even if I’m not attending” – Shane
“every part of this is utterly delightful!” – Dan
“I am a porcupine!” – 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.
NEXT
I’m proud and very thankful to be a fully fan-funded artist, so if you’d like to stay involved and continue to support the making of new music, writing and videos:
❤️ Get immediate access to my entire digital archive (close to 200 tracks!) plus additional ongoing Member Perks by joining The Correspondent’s Club on Patreon!
I found some treasure! My Zoom recorder died, and I nearly formatted the SD card before realising it *might* be pretty full of song ideas… It was, so I listened and talked through some of the snippets that might make it onto the second Penfriend album. Watch this space!
The only way to get access to future Correspondent’s Club releases is to become a member – browse member perks here.
Track listing:
1. Adventures in sound and songwriting 2. Taking small steps 3. I found some treasure
Preview track: “Adventures in sound and songwriting”
Originally released in December 2020, “Let It Snow” wasn’t 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 “no”, you would never have heard of Obey Robots. And if the answer to the second question was “yes”, 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 we’d 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 didn’t know that well.
I got so used to seeing Rat on my computer screen that it still surprises me when we meet up – he’s very tall!
Most of the video was shot using Quicktime player. We’ve 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 don’t want to ruin the plot twist, you’ll just have to watch!
Being creative doesn’t 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. That’s how our album was made, and how everything else we’re sharing is being made. That’s how I’ve always worked.
This is real people making real music about real things. I hope you enjoy it.
I’m proud and very thankful to be a fully fan-funded artist, so if you’d like to stay involved and continue to support the making of new music, writing and videos:
❤️ Get immediate access to my entire digital archive (close to 200 tracks!) plus additional ongoing Member Perks by joining The Correspondent’s Club on Patreon!
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