In Conversation With #195 - Blue Amber
Blue Amber give us layers of nostalgia with their experimental rock album ‘Rockland’s Workshop.
Initially a solo project based out of Drew's bedroom, Blue Amber quickly grew into a rotating ensemble of like-minded friends and musicians from all around the UK based in Cardiff. The band, now comprised of composer Freyja Elsy (keyboards/samples/vocals), jazz guitarist Kumar Chopra, and Drew Noel (vocals and saxophone), pull together a wide range of influences from instrumental hip hop to post-punk, beat poetry to indie folk, to create sonically diverse musical offerings that capture the experiences of 20-somethings in a post-Brexit Britain.
They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Blue Amber, how are you? So your new LP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
I’m well thanks! It’s a massive relief! This thing has been in a work in progress since 2018, so we’ve been sat on it for a while. The feedback we’ve had so far has been really lovely, which is always a bonus.
It is titled ‘Rockland’s Workshop’- does that have a certain meaning behind it?
Rockland’s Workshop was the name of a house I used to live in a few years ago in Aberystwyth, Wales while I was a student. Rockland’s is also the name of an asylum mentioned in Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’. Since the album was inspired by the poem and the town (amongst other things) it seemed apt to give it that title.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
Most of the album was recorded at the Atrium at the University of South Wales in Cardiff. Henry Simm, who produced the record, was a student there, so we had access to the facilities. Afterwards we recorded a few extra parts at After Life Studios in Cardiff Bay. When we were recording at the Atrium, we were fortunate enough to use Gus Dudgeon’s old mixing desk, where he recorded some of Elton John’s biggest hits. Unfortunately we accidentally blew the output of the entire desk while recording ‘Fencing’. Let’s just say that was a stressful afternoon.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
The first half of the record was inspired by my time at Aberystwyth University, and the vibrant array of people who lived there and who I would see every day. The second half is about returning to my home town of Brackley. The different halves are meant to contrast; exiting this weird dreamland of independence and coming back to people I thought I wouldn’t see again, and the general dissatisfaction I felt in doing so. From a musical perspective, I took a lot from a range of genres. Indie Folk artists such as The Microphones, Neutral Milk Hotel and Feist played a large part. But also Hip-Hop artists like Kendrick Lamar and DJ Shadow, Experimental Rock bands like Adult Jazz and Slint and Jazz acts like Dictaphone and Miles Davis.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
The opening lines to ‘Hinterland Girls’ always stick with me: “Poetry adorns the bathroom walls/Rossetti observes the humiliating discourse”. It makes a very specific reference to some graffiti in a bathroom of an old bar in Aberystwyth called The Academy, but also I think perfectly sets the tone of the song. It was a strange experience being in a room where you’d often be completely off your head, but then look up and have lines from ‘Goblin Market’ scrawled on the wall.
If your album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one and why?
It would definitely be one of those melancholic coming-of-age comedies, one with lots of depressing humour. I’m thinking something like Richard Ayoade’s Submarine or Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. It would have to be a film with an ambiguous ending, because that’s how this album ends; will everything be ok, or is the main character just bound to make the same mistakes all over again?
Now the album is out there - what next for you?
At the moment we’re looking to get some more shows booked, we’ve gigged a fair amount around Wales, but we’d love to get over to Bristol, London, and plenty of other cities in England. We’ve also started to write new material. The ideas for album two are already starting to take shape, so watch this space!
