If the music of Amelia Coburn wasn’t already exciting, then recent single “When the tide rolls in” has raised the bar even higher with it’s dense musicality and clear artistic ambition. Starting the campaign in preparation the release of her debut album, which sees Bill Ryder-Jones on production, Damian Robinson caught up with Amelia to find out more.
Congratulations on When the tide rolls in, it’s fantastic – your vocals in particular really stand out. Could you tell us a little about the song?
The song dates back a few years to when I was living and studying in Mexico. I’d had a few strange experiences and met a few unusual characters and the song reflects the ominous mood I sometimes felt at night. It feels familiar due to its folk roots but also slightly alien with elements of discord in there.
The accompanying video really supports the song – could you give us a sense of the idea and treatment for the video.
I’ve worked with Mike Sreenan, who filmed and edited the video, for a couple of years now. He made the video for the previous single and took the photos for my album artwork. We wanted to move away from the narrative style of the first video and do something which tried to capture the mood of the song in a more abstract way.
3. When The Tide Rolls In is taken from your upcoming debut album, is this a good sense of what the album will sound like?
It’s difficult to pinpoint what the album sounds like. It’s quite varied but When The Tide Rolls In definitely sets the listener up for an unusual ride that I don’t think you’d hear on any other album. Each song was very much given its own space and treatment so no two songs sound the same, however they all exist together in the same world. My world of mystery and magic!
You worked with Bill Ryder-Jones on the album. How did you find that experience and what did Bill bring to your songs?
Yawn Studios is tucked away on a back street in the small, coastal town of West Kirby so it was brilliant to have that seaside inspiration and feel a little bit isolated making the album. Bill is truly amazing to work with. He really grasped where the songs were coming from and our shared love of artists such as Scott Walker and Nick Drake shines through on certain tracks. He’s a hugely talented multi-instrumentalist so pretty much anything we could dream of being on there he could whip up, or at least try. I knew within an hour of working with him though that it was the right choice to give my songs a slightly leftfield approach and not deliver what people might expect.
In terms of the rest of 2024 where can we catch you?
I’m going on a full band tour in May and June but locally tickets are on sale for my headline show at the Georgian Theatre on the 8th June. Keep an eye out for other live and album-related announcements too!
Between the Moon and Milkman is out 8th March.