The Baker's Dozen #26 League Of Lights
Farrah and Richard West aka League Of Lights will release their third album ‘Dreamers Don’t Come Down’ on March 12th via Eightspace (CD/Digital) with vinyl to follow on 23/04/21 via Plane Groovy. ‘Dreamers Don’t Come Down’ is a cool record on which the duo deliver pop hooks and sumptuous soundscapes in equal measure. RGM caught up with Farrah for a wide-ranging chat about musical influences, making the very best of things when your tour is cancelled and really important stuff like X-Men or Star Wars…
1. What is your earliest musical memory?
F – In my first year of school we used to sit on the carpet in the afternoon and our teacher played us a song on her guitar which she called Sebastian. We learnt a new song every day, I used to come home and my Mum would ask me what I’d learnt at school, I’d sing her a song and she’d always say didn’t you learn anything other than that?! I still remember some of them now. It was great practice for learning lyrics!
2. Do you remember the name of your first band?
F – Before League there were a few other names for our project, Farrah West and some others that I can’t even remember now, in the end, we settled on League of Lights
3. Which current artist do you hear and just go Wow?
F – This week the track that did that for me was Us The Duo’s version of ‘Drivers License’. I heard their cover before the original track and it is a really stunning, fragile, beautiful version.
4. Do you sit down to write songs or do you wait until your mojo comes to get you?
F – I wait for inspiration, unlike Rich who seems to have the ability to write (in his head) anywhere, anytime!
5. Big venue or small venue – what’s your favourite to play?
F - At this present moment I would say any would be nice! We’ve been doing some live streaming and I have to say that as much as I love our living room it’s just not the same.
6. Who is the one artist you wish you could share a stage with (past or present)?
F – I grew up listening to Wilson Phillips and always wished that I could sing harmonies with them.
7. Bowie, Prince, Sinatra, Elvis which departed great means the most to you?
F – While they are all amazing, I have to say Elvis. When I was growing up we used to shut the curtains, close the door and switch this weird orange light on that was in the fireplace of our house. Me and my sisters would choose an LP from our Mum & Dad’s collection, my Mum’s included Elvis records and we’d dance around the living room switching the orange light on and off to pretend that we were at a disco.
8. The musical landscape could change markedly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. How has the situation affected you and what do you feel will be its impact on the music business/live performance going forward?
F- We released our second album in late 2019, all our touring possibilities disappeared one by one, until all that remained was one festival in Germany. We have an international band and getting everyone there was pretty stressful. We didn’t know if it would come off until we were actually standing on the stage. It was so great to have played a gig in 2020!
As a result of all the cancellations we were left with quite a bit of free time and we spent it making our third album, the lockdown periods were really productive for us and the new album is out in March 2021. We’re really hoping to be able to perform at more than one festival for this album release!
9. Should music be free?
F- No it shouldn’t, it costs money to make and musicians need to eat and pay bills too. People have asked why we don’t give our music out for free and I always ask if they would do their job for nothing, and if not why not!
10. Can you remember the first record you bought and what have you bought recently?
F – The first album I received was Bros, ‘Push!’ - I loved it (I would also like it noted that I was only 11!). By 12 my taste had improved and the first album I actually bought was Then Jerico, ‘The Big Area’. I still love it.
A recent purchase that I loved (although it’s not a new release) was Mary Chapin Carpenter, ‘Songs From The Movie’, it features orchestral versions of her songs. We’ve been listening to albums by artists that we love in chronological order during lockdown three and it is really interesting to hear the progression in writing and style over time.
11. What was the last song that made you cry actual tears?
F - Patrick Droney, ‘Glitter’. I have lost several family members over the past year and not being able to be with them at the end is just awful. ‘Glitter’ made me feel like someone else got what it felt like in a time when I was feeling quite numb from loss.
12. Do you binge watch Netflix / Amazon / DVD box sets (any recommendations)? Do you have a guilty pleasure in Film or TV you’ll admit to watching and loving?
F - We have watched some great TV/movies over the past year –I loved ‘The Last Ship’, that was pretty interesting to watch during a pandemic! In addition to listening to albums in chronological order we’ve also started watching movies in the same way. I’m feeling like a very good wife for watching all of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ I have to admit I enjoyed all the ‘X-Men’ movies more (sorry Rich)!
12 (b) Do you have a guilty pleasure in Film or TV you’ll admit to watching and loving?
F – I like anything that has a nice story and tend to enjoy stuff without any awful violence – I have watched ‘Smallville’ from start to finish quite a few times! I don’t feel guilty about that at all but people do tend to think I’m a bit weird. Honestly though if something is rated 18 I know that I won’t enjoy it. I watched a movie the other day that was rated for ages 6+, it was a lovely film – Rich joked that we had finally found my ideal movie age rating!
13. What is the most important thing to you that you can see from where you are right now?
F – I’m in my office/spare room, and I can see Spring arriving in the garden out of the window. Our little garden has been massively important to me during the past 12 months. Just being able to go outdoors and get a little sun when it decides to make an appearance has kept me from feeling hemmed in.
League Of Lights ‘Dreamers Don’t Come Down’ will be released on 12.03.21 via Eightspace Records with an LP version to follow on 23.04.21 via Plane Groovy.
The latest single from the album is The Collector.
These days, with a seemingly inexhaustible amount of music available at the click of a mouse, it is easy to miss things in our search for instant gratification. The art of getting to know an album over repeated listens, allowing it to slowly reveal itself, is in danger of being lost. A case in point is the aptly titled ‘Modern Nostalgia’, the latest release from The Last Hurrah (!!), a project helmed by Norwegian musician/producer HP Gundersen. ‘Modern Nostalgia’ blends a distinctly European (Serge Gainsbourg/Marianne Faithfull) approach with the California sound of Gram Parsons and The Byrds, utilising a variety of singers and instrumentation along the way to reveal its charms. With this in mind, we caught up with HP Gundersen to learn more about HP and his collaborators in The Last Hurrah (!!).