This week, we go Behind The Tracks with a new EP release from Tulliah as well as two new releases from South Wales acts. Eleri Angharad and viA fAntAsticA .
Eleri Angharad – Delete It!
South Wales singer-songwriter Eleri Angharad’s follow up single to 2020’country-pop hit New Sin is Delete It, produced by Lee House and co-written with Write Like a Girl founder Beth Keeping.
Delete It is a piano led track which finds Eleri exploring her own feelings of anticipation and anxiety around a WhatsApp conversation. She asks the question to either send or delete the message “I Love You.”
“Delete It is one of my most personal tracks to date,” says Eleri, “It describes a moment where I wanted to express my emotions but not damage a friendship. It’s about weighing up the pros and cons of sending I Love You; will I hear back the same message and feel incredible or not get the answer I want and deal with rejection and potential loss? The song represents a pivotal point in my personal life”
The lyric video for Delete It was made by Eleri on her phone. Eleri also runs her own her own weekly live series, Eleri’s Sunday Sessions, a collaborative stream with artists from across the globe.
Eleri explains, “I wanted to do something different with a live stream so, I created the Sunday Sessions where I invite another artist to come and perform songs alongside me, and discuss our influences. We’ve been connecting music lovers with new artists and it’s led to some exciting collaborations, which Delete It has come from”
Eleri’s Sunday Sessions will return’s today (Sunday 21st March) on Eleri’s Instagram and the line-up for the next season includes Tom Auton, Emma Mae, Poppy Fardell and Macy.
Tulliah – Fre$h Hugs EP
19-Year-old, singer/songwriter Tulliah’s debut body of work, Fre$h Hugs is a six track EP packed to the brim with vastly mature musicality and breathtakingly emotional songwriting.
Tulliah first unveiled Just My Type (A Little Bit Lonely) from the new EP at the end of last year, while Distant Dreams was the second taste from Fre$h Hugs; a song written as a reminder not to break away from personal dreams and visions for the future.
Two further songs that feature on the EP are Okay and Take It Off Now Boy.
Focus track Okay is the EP’s most intimate and personal moment. Tulliah explains, “It’s about letting [a friend] know that I’m there for them, and that I’m there to listen in a time of need. It’s about just letting your friends know you’re there.”
Take It Off Now Boy was co-written with Gio Stonne and is scandalously about a mutual friend being cheated on while in a coma. Tulliah says,”After hearing what had happened to our friend, Gio and I wrote the song in about 20 mins. It’s about being helpless in this situation. Although our friend was hurting, it’s hard to get over someone that you loved.”
In addition, the EP features two interlude tracks which add a tapestry of depth and imagery to the body of world. Teenager is a prelude to Just My Type (A Little Bit Lonely) and a BBC audio sample from an interview called It’s The Age of the Teenager featuring Lady Lewisham during an interview about what she thinks of young people.
Dean Tuza who has worked with Stella Donnelly and The Rubens sat in the production hot seat across the entirety of the EP, working closely with Tulliah to finesse each track. In addition, Grammy-winning producer David Kahne produced string arrangements that feature on the EP.
viA fAntAsticA – ‘Onstage, right now….’
‘Onstage, right now.. is from South Wales-based electronica outfit viA fAntAsticA whose album 2any1 is released on March 29. Onstage, right now.. is a tapestry of percussive loops, synth waves and found sound samples that reassembles early 90s rave culture with echoes of 60s pop.
viA fAntAsticA is made up of J.T. and Gaia de Voxx on a DIY synth pop journey. J.T. is Justin Toland, erstwhile purveyor of loops and found sound on Recordiau Peski and self-released cassettes under the name Location Baked. Gaia de Voxx is his droid vocalist.
viA fAntAsticA explain, “2 any 1 began as an imaginary soundtrack to a 21st century kitchen sink drama set in the faded seaside resort of Porthcawl. That was the inspiration for the Italo disco stylings of Meet me at Sidoli’s, the electronic surf rock of Never surf again, lover’s lament Not waving but crying, and the incidental noir of Fog and mirrors. When Covid scuppered those plans, the album began to take a different shape: less conceptual, more personal, more free ranging.
“So, there are songs and tunes about Cardiff communities and community action, including Row Town (Roath), Rebuild the Poets, and Agents of Change, which nods to Toland’s found sound roots, with its field recording from a Save Guildford Crescent demo.
“There are tracks based around loops and inspirations, including Must be built, which searches for the essence of the Hacienda nightclub, Swim-up bar blues, Cowley, and lead single Onstage, right now..
“And above all, there are things that just sound good and sound right, like Gwawr, like Stomp stomp. So, we’re releasing them, releasing this album – 2any1 – in ’21. Are you listening?”
- Check out our Behind The Tracks playlist via Spotify to hear the latest releases!