Lisa

Get your ears ready folks! Today I am sharing my favourite song of the past couple months, 'Lisa' by The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers.


Quite a band name, non? (From hereinafter, I shall refer to them as "The Prayers and Tears" for brevity's sake.)
According to their myspace, The Prayers and Tears are "an incomprehensible mess of a band, comprised of the various members, benefactors, patron saints, and onlookers of the bu_hanan collective". But as best I can figure out, the root of The Prayers and Tears is Perry Wright.
You can go check out their website if you would like. You can even get some free dowloads there, including the EP that contains the song I am posting today!

'Lisa' is a song they recorded for Esopus Magazine back in 2005. I just happened to come across this song on another blog and I am so glad I did because, well, I love it. I love everything about it... the somber, subdued vocals; the slightly out-of-tune piano; the plaintive violin; the lyrics that make your heart ache... All these things add up to make a pretty special song.

I actually think I downloaded the song before I listened to it. The first time I heard it I was a bit distracted and there were other noises so I couldn't really hear it. But later, in the midnight stillness, I listened to it while lying in bed and was amazed.

The lyrics are definitely one of the highlights for me. I would recommend listening very carefully to them or reading along. {One of the commenters on that lyrics site I just linked, says that he remembers [whoever wrote the song - Perry, presumably] saying the song was about "an adult sending a letter back to his eight year-old self." Whether or not that is true, that is my favourite interpretation of this song.

Listen:

Foreign Slippers

So... um, sorry for only posting twice in February. I was going to post again but I had forgotten how short February is and I ran out of days. I figured I would just forget about posting again and instead actually post my "Artist of the Month" on time for once! Quelle idée! ;)

Apparently I've been listening to a lot of great EPs lately. If you'll notice, the last three artists of the month have all had EPs that I've loved. Hmm...
Though I did not do this on purpose, you'll be happy to know I'm am keeping that trend alive with Foreign Slippers as the artist of this month!

{No, I have no idea what she has on her head. I think it looks pretty awesome, regardless.
Also, picture was found here. Since I actually found it on someone's photostream and not just randomly on google, I though I'd give credit.}

Foreign Slippers is Gabrielle Fröden (with Phil Wilkinson on drums). She was born in Sweden but is based in London. So far she has released two EPs: Oh Death and It All Starts Now. I was not aware of the latter's existence till yesterday. You can download it for free here. Actually, I am listening to it for the first time as I type this. Incredible, right? So far it sounds great!

I suppose it goes without saying that it is her Oh Death EP I am familiar with. I first came across her music a few months ago. Her song 'Packed the Car' was the first I heard and let's just say, I was instantly hooked. Soon afterward I downloaded the full EP. Her music is full of nostalgia, quiet longing and absolute beauty. Oh Death is perfect for listening to while sitting by the fireside and dreaming of past, warmer days.

Listen to 'Packed the Car':