FREE live album – She Sings Sea Songs

“It’s so massive, and it humbles me…”

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.

-> Get your copy of “She Sings Sea Songs” here, then shay that shix times after a bottle of grog this Bank Holiday weekend.

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?!!!

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* 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

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 your FREE 12-track album + 31-page PDF zine of stories, photographs and artwork here.

❤️ 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!

🎸 Listen to my latest solo album “Exotic Monsters” and browse my back catalogue.

🎥 Watch my videos for adventures in sound & songwriting.

💬 Chat with me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

See you soon xo

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Correspondent’s Club 014 – 19/12/23

by Laura Kidd Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

Correspondent’s Club 013 – 19/12/23

by Laura Kidd Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

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)

Correspondent’s Club 012 – 5/9/23

by Laura Kidd Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

One never-before-shared demo, some buried treasure plus a 24 page zine-letter with 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. Lady Music For Ladies
2. Olympian Livestream 10/6/23
3. I’ll Start A Fire 9/9/20
4. Exotic Monsters a capella 26/1/21

Correspondent’s Club 011 – 16/5/23

by Laura Kidd Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

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)

Stars and spangles: “Elephant”: the video

by Laura Kidd Creativity Letterbox Releases Singles

“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.

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“Elephant” – Obey Robots

by Laura Kidd Creativity Letterbox Music News Releases Singles

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.

✅ Pre-order the Obey Robots album “One In A Thousand” now and receive this track PLUS four more immediately.

✅ 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.

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

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Yes, we made these costumes ourselves…

by Laura Kidd Creativity Letterbox Releases Singles

“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!

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.

SEND ME FREE SONGS & STORIES

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Correspondent’s Club 010 – 7/2/23

by Laura Kidd Letterbox Music News Perks TCC

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”

Why I shot a music video using Quicktime player and made it look like a Zoom call…

by Laura Kidd Creativity Letterbox Music News Process Releases Singles

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.

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!

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Category: Releases

FREE live album – She Sings Sea Songs

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Correspondent’s Club 014 – 19/12/23

Correspondent’s Club 013 – 19/12/23

Correspondent’s Club 012 – 5/9/23

Correspondent’s Club 011 – 16/5/23

Stars and spangles: “Elephant”: the video

NEXT

“Elephant” – Obey Robots

NEXT

Yes, we made these costumes ourselves…

NEXT

Correspondent’s Club 010 – 7/2/23

Why I shot a music video using Quicktime player and made it look like a Zoom call…

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