MARK FLEMING
  • Home
  • 1976
  • Blog
  • About me
  • My bands
    • 4 Minute Warning
    • Desperation A.M.
    • Little Big Dig
    • Axidents
    • Noniconic
  • Contact
  • Home
  • 1976
  • Blog
  • About me
  • My bands
    • 4 Minute Warning
    • Desperation A.M.
    • Little Big Dig
    • Axidents
    • Noniconic
  • Contact

Fisherrow at night + Unloved

9/1/2022

 
An hour before sunrise, Fisherrow Harbour was still cloaked in shadow, pier lights shimmering against the full tide, a cacophony of gulls and waders in the background. Large flocks of herring gulls were roosting in the Firth of Forth several hundred metres beyond the harbour entrance. The more pale light infiltrating the skies from the direction of Fidra lighthouse due east, the more gulls would take flight until their silhouettes were swarming inland - seeking out full Scottish breakfasts in the bins of Musselburgh or the fields beyond.
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mark Fleming (@markfleming_embra)

Playlist: Unloved, Heartbreak (Heavenly, 2019)

Unloved, a trio who might loosely be described as 'alt-rock,' were instigated when Belfast-born composer David Holmes found himself in The Rotary Room on Santa Monica Boulevard in LA, at a jam night run by singer/songwriter Jade Vincent and her partner, musician/composer Keefus Ciancia.
 
Holmes, a long-time collaborator with film director Steve Soderburgh, created music for Out of Sight and the Ocean's trilogy, the soundtrack to Yan Demanges' gritty 'Troubles' movie '71, as well as TV series The Fall. He has also remixed albums for Jarvis Cocker, Orbital, Primal Scream, and U2, and co-written with Sinead O'Connor. Keefus Ciancia is an American composer who has collaborated with the Coen Brothers and played keyboards for both Iggy Pop and Elton John. Jade Vincent's sultry voice regularly mesmerised the bar's audience.
 
The threesome began discussing the possibilities of melding 60s girl-pop nostalgia with classic movie themes. Before dropping any music, they might have creaked under the strain of their component parts' hip collaborations and ultra-cool references. This could so easily have tipped into pretentiousness. Instead, what emerged were joyous and evocative soundscapes. Their debut album was Guilty of Love (Unloved, 2015), Vincent's dreamy vocals swirling over trip-hops beats, against an alluring psychedelic backdrop. These glorious sounds were showcased on the hit TV series Killing Eve.
 
The follow-up, Heartbreak (Heavenly 2019) sees Unloved continuing to pluck the heartstrings. The highly danceable 'Love' wears its 60s influences on its sleeve: "Mamas like to give it/Papa's gonna take it/and baby ooh/that's love." On 'Fail We May Sail We Must,' Vincent's vocal soars over an insistent rhythm. The mysterious 'Lee' commences with an ethereal choir-like refrain, rising to beautiful harmonies propelled by strings (including brooding cellos) and synths. 'Crash Boom Bang' exemplifies Unloved's bombastic dimension, wrenching the gears up from the chilled mood to invoke (IMHO) Steve McQueen zipping along West Coast freeways in his Highland Green 1968 Fort Mustang Bullitt GT!


The concluding tracks shift down again, 'Boy and Girl' reflecting on the potency of emotions: "I am here and you are there/and somewhere in between/tears like stars reflect upon/the deepest, darkest, sea," the poised beat leading to a glimmering keyboard refrain. By the closing number 'If,' Vincent's voice is dissolving into a trancelike lullaby. "If I loved you less I'd be a liar/if I loved you more I'd fade."

Cool movies inspire appropriate soundtracks (Pulp Fiction, The Graduate, Help!, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Trainspotting 2 ... the subjective list is endless). But if it happened the other way round, this wonderful album would inspire dazzling screenwriting.
 
Post-punk soundtracks: Visitors and Magazine
 
A post script. I saw The Fall at Clouds in Edinburgh in March 1981, supported by local groups The Prats and Visitors. The latter had progressed way beyond their punk origins as The Deleted and played extended pieces, sometimes reminiscent of cinematic soundtracks. Another enigmatic band from that era, Magazine, played the Astoria in Edinburgh (now student flats) the previous April. The futuristic Mancunians were ably supported by the up-and-coming Bauhaus, and local post-punkers Josef K, who were to sign with Postcard and become a major influence of, amongst others, Franz Ferdinand.

Magazine, starring Buzzcocks founder Howard Devoto conjured sophisticated sonic layers. John McGeoch's angular guitar lines, Barry Adamson's funktastic bass and Dave Formula's sparkling keyboards were perfect for covers including Sly and the Family Stone's Thank You (Faletinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's 'I Love You, You Big Dummy,' and most notably in this context, the theme to Goldfinger.

Related blog: It's my heart again, that drives we wild - Pete Shelley RIP
Fusing film scores with effervescent 60s pop and cool reflection has long been a winning combination.
Unloved, transatlantic alt rock band

Video: David Holmes explains how Unloved created the soundtrack for Killing Eve.

    Picture
    MARK FLEMING
    ​EDINBURGH | SCOTLAND


    ​Categories

    All
    404 Ink - Space
    9/11
    Alan Brazil
    Albums Of 2021
    Albums Of 2022
    Amanda Prowse
    Amy Winehouse
    Andrew Mitchell
    Anna B Savage: A Common Tern
    Ari Up
    Armistice
    Arts Festival
    Balconing
    Barack Obama
    Berlin Wall
    Best Books 2016
    Blackshirts
    Bobby Smith 'One Love Two Colours'
    Book Censorship
    Britains Got Talent
    Can: Flow Motion
    Caroline Flack
    Changing Room; Transforming Lives
    Chavs And Filthy Rich
    Child Cage Fight
    Christmas Truce 1914
    Citizens Advice Scotland
    City Boys Deride NHS
    Claire Connor: Art In Scots
    Clinton STD Scandal
    David Walliams
    Denise Johnson RIP
    Depression Awareness
    Desperation A.M.
    Dick Smith RIP
    Disability
    DOK Exhibitions
    Domestic Violence
    Edinburgh Festival
    Faisal Shahzad
    Falklands War
    Featuring Mark Fleming
    Fisherrow At Night
    Fortitude
    Frankie Abbbott
    Gaelic Suppression
    Game Of Thrones
    Garry O'Connor: Highs/lows
    Gary Alikivi: Northeast Culture
    Gary Speed
    Gerry Anderson
    Gettysburg
    Gore Vidal
    Graham Crowden
    Ground Zero
    Hacking Scandal
    Helga Etsby
    Hillsborough Justice
    Hiroshima 75th
    Homelessness
    Ian Curtis: 40 Years On
    Ibiza
    Ibrox Disaster
    Idlewild - 25th Anniversary
    Internet Petitions
    Ireland's Rocky Journey
    It's A Kind Of A Funny Story
    Ivor Tiefenbrun
    Jake Bugg
    Jenny Saville
    Jeremy Clarkson
    Jeremy Clarkson On PQ17
    Joe Strummer
    John Cormack
    John Hume RIP
    John Peel
    John Terry
    Keira Knightley
    Keith Levene RIP
    Kelly Lee Owens: Inner Song
    Kelvin MacKenzie: Wants Police Apology
    Kirkcaldy High School: Writer In Residence
    Kristallnacht
    Lemmy
    Llyr George
    Lovely Eggs
    Lying About Mental Health
    Malvinas V Falklands
    Manic Street Preachers: Ultra Vivid Lament
    Mark E Smith RIP
    Mental Health And Fat-shaming
    Mental Health Awareness Week 2018
    Mental Health During COVID-19
    Mental Health Prejudice
    Michael Portillo: Death Of A School Friend
    Middle East Peace Process
    Mosley
    Musselburgh Mudflats
    Mysterines: Love's Not Enough
    National Rifle Association
    Neo Fascism
    News International
    Newtown Killings
    Nicolas Winding Refn
    Noel Edmunds
    Organ Donation
    Ozark: Bipolar Disorder
    Paddy Ashdown Delusions
    Paul Research: Skate The Royal Mile
    Paul Weller: On Sunset
    Pete Shelley RIP
    Picnics And Paedophiles
    Poly Styrene
    Porty Shore
    Porty Sunrise
    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
    Predator Drones
    Primal Scream
    Private Ellison
    Protestant Action 1930s
    PTSD
    Public Service Broadcasting: Bright Magic
    Public Service Broadcasting: Lit Up
    Punishment Of Luxury
    Punk's Impact 35 Years On
    Quadrophenia And The 1979 Mod Revival
    Racism In Football
    Revenant
    Richard Ashcroft
    Richey Edwards
    Rick Perry
    Robbie Hance
    Rupert Murdoch
    Samaritans
    Sarrazin
    Saughton Prison Visit
    Scars Reunion
    Scottish Tories
    Seafield Sunrise
    Seafield Waste Plant
    Self Harm And Ronaldo
    Sepp Blatter
    Sex And Violence
    Shane Meadows
    Shaw Trust
    She Drew The Gun
    Shoegaze: 30 Years Of Loud Dream Pop
    Simon Cowell
    Simon Weston
    Slaughter And The Dogs
    Soldiers Suffering Breakdowns
    SS Mendi Disaster
    Stigma
    Storm Arwen
    Stranglers Live Review
    Suicide
    Suicide And Ignorance
    Surgeon's Hall And The Edinburgh Seven
    Susan Boyle
    Swearing: Dead Man's Shoes
    Syria - Crossing The Red Line
    Teleman: Brilliant Sanity
    Terry Jones
    The Chase
    The Clash Debut
    The Damned
    The Responder: Freeman's Tour-de-force
    The Slits
    The Sun - One-finger Salute To Lord Leveson
    The Wolf Warriors And Werewolves
    This Is England
    This Is England 86 Review
    Time To Change
    Tombstoning
    Tom Chapman
    Tony Scott
    Tories
    Tragedy House And 90s Leith
    Troy Davis
    Unloved: Heartbreak
    Urban Noir Photo Exhibition
    U.S. Slavery Ends 1865
    US War Hystria
    Vic And Bob's Shooting Stars
    Voyager
    Wags
    Wayne Bridge
    Web Trolls
    'When Two Sevens Clash' By Andrew Watson
    Wolf Alice: Space And Time
    World Alzheimer's Day
    World Suicide Prevention Day 2020
    X Factor
    X Ray Spex

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.