The best part of creating music as an independent artist is the freedom to go in whatever direction feels right. No record labels to answer to. No specific genres or styles can limit the creativity. The freedom of The Bleeding Obvious is inspiring. We had a chance to sit down with the artist and get a look into how she got where she is today. Enjoy the interview here:
First off, where did the name The Bleeding Obvious come from?
Well, a couple of places, but it’s mostly based on what friends said when I came out to them (on the LGBT spectrum) – they tended to say “it’s bleedin’ obvious isn’t it!”.
Your sound is quite interesting, how would you describe it?
I’ve struggled with this one for a while but the closest I can get to it is “theatrical pop”. I mean, there’s pop, jazz, classical, downtempo… the theatrical/narrative nature of it all overarches it. Yeah, we’ll take “theatrical pop”. Never the word fusion though, I hate that word, it’s a total get-out!
Which artists have been your biggest influences?
There are absolutely tons, way too many to list here but off the top of my head – the orchestral pop of Saint Etienne, Pet Shop Boys and Swing Out Sister. Add into that mix prog rock, groups like Genesis, Focus, even synthpunk insanity like Cardiacs. It all goes into the mix.
Rumor is that you have a new record coming out next month. Tell us about it?
Yes! It’s called Spectrum, and it’s a five-track EP comprising alternative versions and reworks of songs from my first two albums (“The Bleeding Obvious” and “Rainbow Heart”). I’ve been touring a show based on the Rainbow Heart album and over time some of the songs have taken on new styles, so this is a sort-of companion piece to that tour.
Some are fairly similar to the originals – One Foot In Front Of The Other is basically the original song with a few tweaks and a smashing trumpet solo, whereas Gender Babylon is a radically different acoustic version to the original. Me Myself And I is an arrangement where I play vibraphone – you can blame Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive for that one.
For this one you recorded with a full band for the first time. How was that experience?
It was tremendous fun and a heck of a learning curve as I’ve synthesised things in the studio before and worked with drum machines – for this release it was “real” over “synthesised”! Take Gender Babylon for instance, the guitarist on there is a friend of mine – Louie James – and we’ve been performing the song at various open mic nights in our little area of the UK. I sang it at the Christmas show last year and it went down a storm so that went onto the EP.
Title track “Spectrum” was a blast. Full band, I’ve never heard noise like that. Absolutely banging, if a little intimidating owing to the sheer talent. I might do more of the full-band thing in future, maybe see if I can get people together for live shows, but we’ll see. I’m still smarting a bit from the previous band I tried that with!
What do you hope that listeners get from a song by The Bleeding Obvious?
An earworm, without a doubt. I try and write catchy hooks but with lyrics which actually mean something – “education by osmosis” someone said a while back, y’know?
What advice do you have for other artists doing something truly unique?
Try and start at different points – beat, bass, keys, hooks, vocals, all that. Don’t ever be afraid to throw in another genre unexpectedly and blindside the listener.
What is on the horizon for The Bleeding Obvious?
Well I launch the Spectrum EP on 6th May in Wakefield with an intimate little gig, then I’m touring Rainbow Heart around the UK until the end of September – plus there are a few festival dates where I’m going to try out a few new songs.
Album 3 is very much in-progress but it’s a slow-burner. I’m hoping (fingers crossed!) to put it out next January or February. I’ve been getting into new loop-driven acts Superorganism and Cosmo Sheldrake recently, that’s started showing in my upcoming studio work.
For the moment though it’s Spectrum, Rainbow Heart, and education by osmosis. Probably!
