LOST MAP’s smoothly sweet singer-songwriter Martha Ffion is pleased as punch to announce (as should we be) a live-streamed session this week.
The live sesh has been commissioned by Lost Map as part of the label’s Postmap Club: a proper, old-fashioned club with real actual postcards, badges, first dibs on things, newsletters, remixes, exclusive tracks, money off (for more information, click here). Thusly, the live session is free to Postmap members, and is the first such event planned; hey! you can still ‘come along’ if you’re a non-member, but it will cost you a fiver – you can buy a ticket here.
The live session, entitled Captured on Cassette, will begin at 8pm Greenwich Mean Time this Wednesday, November 25th.
Need any more persuasion? OK, OK. Have a little watch of the video of the session version of her latest single, “Rosaleen” (which is out now digitally): a fragile, country-bluesish lovely, graced with three-part harmonies courtesy Beth Chalmers, of Savage Mansion and Molly Linen; and Suse Bear, of Good Dog, Pictish Trail and Tuff Love.
The session was recorded in late summer – y’know, when we could move about the place, albeit cautiously – at Chime Studios in Glasgow.
“During those brief, halcyon days of ‘Phase 3’, I moved quickly to pull together a live session that would be more exciting than my living room acoustic streams,” says Claire McKay, the Irish talent behind the Martha Ffion name.
“With time of the essence and restrictions on group numbers I knew a more minimal set up would be needed.
“We ended up revisiting some of my original demos for inspiration – picking out the most important elements of each song and focusing on getting the harmonies just right.
The theme ‘captured on cassette’ comes from a Nights To Forget lyric. I hunted down some vintage cassette players and tried to give the room a seedy ‘70s motel aesthetic. We had a lot of fun and were giddy to be making music in a room together.
“Although it’s been pre-recorded, I’m really looking forward to the communal experience of watching it with everyone on November 25 and engaging with people.”
Of “Rosaleen” itself, she says: “[It] was inspired by my grandma (it’s not her real name). She was an incredibly strong and smart woman, known for her sharp tongue and love of a party (like a Welsh Lucille Bluth).
“Although we didn’t see eye to eye on everything politically, I’m glad of the many things she taught me and all the love she gave.”
Follow Martha at her website, on Facebook, on Twitter and on Instagram.
