At musicmuso towers, we fell in love with an amazingly talented singer songwriter when she played in Totnes (my hometown) about 5 years ago, we saw her again supporting local legend Andy Quick and we've been avid followers since.
Roxanne de Bastion releases RERUN and UNWIND as a double A single on March 16th. Taken from the international singer songwriter's acclaimed album “Heirlooms & Hearsay”, the two tracks show the evolution of sound RDB is going through – from dreamy piano pop through to darker, more electric soundscapes. Both songs are tales of introspection, a musing on her creativity itself and the artists' role in today's society.
RDB does not shy away from big topics. The main inspiration and narrative thread of “Heirlooms & Hearsay”, which came out last year and garnered massive support from national press in both the UK and Germany, is the artists' grandfather, a pianist from Hungary and survivor of the 2nd World War, whose story is as incredulous as many who suffered (and suffer) a similar fate. Throughout the album, RDB draws parallels between then and now, exploring how trauma gets passed on through generations and points a finger at society's short-term memory.
The live video to accompany the release was filmed in Middle Farm Studios in Devon. RDB is playing her largest UK headline show to date at The Lexington on April 16th with the same line-up. About Roxanne de Bastion RDB is a London based artist with Berlin routes and has made a name for herself across Europe as “a real mover and shaker in the independent music scene” (Ruth Barnes). Over the past 18 months alone, Roxanne has toured with the Wainwright Sisters, Thea Gilmore, has performed at Glastonbury on the legendary acoustic stage and completed her first two tours of the USA. Her UK album launch tour, which was supported by the PRS for Music 'Women Make Music' fund, included a packed show at London’s Roundhouse. With a performance at Cambridge Folk Festival in July, another tour of the UK opening for Lambchop and a sold-out tour of Germany, 2017 has been jam packed for RDB. Roxanne is the definition of an artist entrepreneur and, in addition to her touring, Roxanne also continues her advocacy work for artist rights with the Featured Artist Coalition, where she sits on the board of directors along side Imogen Heap, Ed O’Brien from Radiohead, Katy Melua and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd.
Clash Magazine recently premiered the live video of "Re-Run" but we're the first to share the Soundcloud link for both of the radio edits;
Here's Roxanne to tell you some more about the songs;
"RERUN was the first song I wrote for 'Heirlooms & Hearsay'. It was also one of the first ever songs I wrote on the piano, which became a central theme to the story weaving through the album. The song is a musing on creativity, whether or not any idea or concept is truly new, or whether all thoughts already exist and we merely pluck them out of the collective consciousness and recycle them."
"UNWIND covered those moments when we want nothing more than sleep, but it will not come because our brain won't stop running in circles... I loved recording UNWIND with Pete Miles, Tim Langsford and Pat Pearson. I played them the song on my acoustic guitar and talked a little about what I had in mind for the arrangement. We then just messed about in the live room and explored the sounds. It was a rare occasion for me where I let the song go and went along for the ride. The track was nearly finished, but we still felt we were missing something and then, one day, Matthew Reynolds, a friend of Pete's, just walked into the studio and laid down that guitar solo, which turned out to be one of my favourite moments on the record."
"We recorded the album at Middle Farm Studios in Devon, which is a really great place to make music. I really wanted to show what the recording process was like, so we decided to film a live session to share with you, which has just been premiered on Clash Magazine."
You'll be glad to hear that she's also created a crowdfunded book which will be available to purchase on 16th April at the Lexington in London, here she is again to set the scene....
"Over the past few years, I’ve spent time on trains writing about my musical travels. I realised that my blog posts now tell a story that starts from my very first open mic in the UK to performing on the acoustic stage at Glastonbury – a good moment to tie a proverbial bow around it and turn ‘Tales From the Rails’ into an actual book. I’ve revisited, edited and added footnotes to my favourite blog posts in order to tell my story of life as an independent artist."
"Every single blog post has been lovingly illustrated by Berlin artist James Gardiner. He’s perfectly captured the magic and absurdity of my travels and I can’t wait for you to see them all"
So the number 16 is proving significant for Roxanne this year, as she’s self releasing her AA single for Re Run/ Unwind on 16th March and she’s also celebrating the launch of the book with a full-band show at The Lexington in London on April 16th.
What the press are saying about RDB
“Standout number...astonishingly assured” (The Sunday Times)
“Mighty Impressive” (Chris Hawkins, BBC6)
“A ‘Real Deal’ Songwriter…Feist with a spark and reminiscence of Joni Mitchell” (Fresh On The Net)
