Michael Doherty’s lyrics can feel like you’re bearing witness to a small but important discovery. The one that opens his debut LP with Another Michael – initially a solo project but now a three-piece featuring bassist and producer Nick Sebastiano and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Alenni Davis – will be familiar to any music fan. “We were up late online talking about new music/ And you sent me a link to a song that I’d never heard before,” he sings warmly before his voice hits a stunning falsetto: “I need to get my headphones on.” No more than thirty seconds in and the music compels you to do the same, just to make sure you’re taking in all of its lush intimacy, or you might want to pause and send the link to a friend. “Just think about the long pause after it’s gone,” he ponders, but it comes out more like an invitation.
Though clocking in at just 35 minutes, it’s in these long stretches of time – when you’re going on a walk or a ride or making dinner with a friend – that much of New Music and Big Pop seems to come alive. They serve as the catalyst for a series of intimate thoughts and feelings, which Doherty presents in an evocative, stream-of-consciousness manner. It’d be easy to coast on the relatability of its opening lines, but what makes ‘New Music’ more interesting is how he steers the song in an increasingly confessional, introspective direction. Lyrics like “I am thinking about my own life and for that I feel ashamed” or “I am willing to hold myself and put up with this awful loneliness” might make you think you’re listening to a Pinegrove song – which makes sense considering the two bands have toured together – but Doherty, Sebastiano, and Davis infuse their songs with enough personality to confirm they’ve spent as much time honing in their own sound as they have sharing their love of other people’s music.
One of the features of their sound is how naturally pleasant and amiable it is, as if the group have charitably imparted some part of their own connection into it. Recorded in a small A-frame house they turned into a makeshift studio outside Ferndale, NY, the process of making the album was both collaborative and intuitive, and that approach comes through as much in the album’s lyrics as the looseness and vibrancy of the arrangements. It’s often at its most animated that their music shines the most: ‘I Know You’re Wrong’ sports a sprightly guitar progression to accompany Doherty’s emotive, pitch-perfect delivery, while ‘Big Pop’ channels the group’s pop influences for an infectious tune that’s also the record’s most memorable highlight. The album rarely loses its distinct flavour, even though a slight proclivity towards lighter hues, as well as the band’s tendency to spread out its palette a bit too thinly, can make some moments pale in comparison to others.
A more distinguishing quality is how present and inward-looking Doherty’s songwriting can be. “I’m thinking of my day as I go,” he hums on ‘My Day’, and it often feels like he’s approaching his writing in a similar way. There’s a lot of art about the making of art, but Doherty seems less interested in intellectualizing that process than simply relaying it in plain terms: how listening to a song can make you want to “be in on all of this” and “make something timeless,” what it’s like trying to turn a bad conversation into a good song, or simply how joyful it can feel to pursue that creative drive. Despite what its title may suggest, though, music is far from the only subject permeating New Music and Big Pop. Doherty uses it more as a vessel to explore deeper personal questions, or simply a means of setting the scene: during a Phil Elverum-esque passage on ‘Hone’, he mentions “a great record that Evan showed me last week,” drawing attention less to the unnamed record than the specificity of that exchange.
As invigorating as these small discoveries can be, much of the album is preoccupied by the kind of emptiness that’s hard to fill with momentary pleasures. ‘What the Hell is Going On?’ finds Doherty asking that question with heart-rending earnestness, unable to wrestle with the reality of a lover leaving for good. But it’s the following track, ‘I’m Not Home’, that marks an unexpected shift in tone, its jarring minor chords evoking the lows of depression that Doherty expresses in the lyrics. You almost wish the band had delved into more of these dynamics throughout, but New Music and Big Pop is the kind of introduction that peaks your interest just enough to want hear more, not least because of the way it ends: One of the few tracks that sets its gaze on the future, ‘Shaky Cam’ acknowledges a sense of aimlessness and uncertainty, yet showcases a band capable of distilling those emotions into a thing of dizzying beauty.
Every engaged person looks forward to their wedding day. But when the reality of how to organize a wedding hits, you’d discover that you don’t know where to start. There’s so much to do, down to the tiny details, and that can be overwhelming. This could leave you disoriented and drained, stealing your joy.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way if you know what to do at the right time. That’s why to help brides, we’ve put together a detailed wedding checklist for brides. On this list, you’ll find useful wedding planning tips and ideas to suit your goals.
Embrace order
The tasks are unending. From the numerous things to buy for a wedding, to assembling vendors, signing of contracts, and more. You’ll also need inspiration for your attire, hair, makeup, cake, venue, decor, menus, and more. You’ll be cutting lots of clips from magazines and all. This means papers and wedding planning info will be strewn everywhere and this doesn’t bode well.
The best wedding planning advice is to get an organizer. Whether manual or electronic, the organizer or binder helps you put all these tiny bits of information in one place. This way, you don’t lose important details and can access them at will.
Preserve everything
One of the best wedding planning tips for brides and planners is the art of preservation. There’ll be a lot of receipts, invoices, vendor contacts, and signed contracts flying around. Pool them up and save them somewhere secure. There’s nothing insignificant when planning a wedding. Even issued invoices from food, attire, facials, or whatever else you do should be saved. They should be well disposed of only after a successful wedding. We must remember that anything could come up while planning and you’d need to refer or produce these items.
Get a spreadsheet
For the ultimate planning and organization, get a comprehensive spreadsheet. With this, you can log in all the wedding tips and ideas you know. From the budget to music, food, venue, cute photos, and everything else. You can also break down these tasks and assign costs to them.
Breaking all these down will help you track expenses, tick off completed tasks, and sum off the rest. This gets easier with spreadsheets that can automatically calculate and fill in the total. Lastly, you may get bonus countdown calendars to heighten your excitement.
Delegate to trusted hands
You can’t possibly do everything on your own, so we advise that you get a planner. If your budget doesn’t cover a wedding planner, delegate tasks to trusted friends and family. Grant them access to your spreadsheet so that they can update their tasks. If you’re going manual, have them give you feedback daily or weekly, so you can fill it in. Furthermore, try to get burlap table runner bulk for the wedding to make a good impression.
Create a realistic and flexible timeline
During the process of wedding planning, a lot of people want to do everything within the shortest time possible. However, like yourself, can I accomplish this within the assigned timeline? If I do, will it be the best of its kind or substandard due to the rush?
It’s important that you create realistic timelines while giving room for flexibility. This will help cut down undue pressure and associated stress, helping you function at your best. Lastly, you’ll love the outcome of working at your own pace.
Set up a mood board
It’s one thing to have wedding ideas and inspiration in your head or binders. But it’s another thing to visualize them and bring them to life. This is why mood boards are must-haves for intending brides.
If you favor the electronic kind, Pinterest is a great place to create your mood board. Get an account, open and name different folders, then pin your inspiration to the appropriate folder. If you work better manually, create a workspace for the duration of wedding planning in your home. Get a chalkboard and write down or draw all your thoughts using colorful chalks. You can always add to them as you get inspired.
Delegate to trusted hands
You can’t possibly do everything on your own, so we advise that you get a planner. If your budget doesn’t cover a wedding planner, delegate tasks to trusted friends and family. Grant them access to your spreadsheet so that they can update their tasks. If you’re going manual, have them give you feedback daily or weekly, so you can fill it in.
Be proactive
A huge mistake that many brides make when planning a wedding is leaving perceived insignificant things until the last minute. Those supposedly basic details can make or mar your wedding. Also, as a bride, don’t want to look harassed and stressed out because you’re doing last-minute tasks. The last two weeks before your wedding should be mostly dedicated to bonding with the partner and self-care. This can only happen if you’re proactive with your tasks.
No matter how much help you have, you must leave a personal touch on your wedding. If you don’t know how to, this guide, brides will learn how to organize a wedding with minimal stress.
Author Bio
Svitlana Yefimets
Svitlana is the chief editor and in control of all Wedding Forward content since 2017. She started writing in 2012. She is an expert in details concerning venues, gifts, ceremonies, music, and everything about real weddings. If you want to collaborate with us, send her an email. She spends her leisure tasting dishes, discovering new restaurants, and staying fit through yoga!
Planning a wedding is a stressful and expensive experience. However, with the right organisational system, you can make it an enjoyable time. Reduce your stress levels with a detailed plan of what you need to get done in the next 12-18 months.
Just because you can’t have your wedding at the moment doesn’t mean you can’t plan. Start wedding preparation early so you can remain calm and efficient throughout the process. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to keep everything organised.
Mood boards
Nothing says wedding planning like a Pinterest board. Create multiple boards for different sections of your wedding, such as food, dress, venue, table décor and much more. Keep everything in one account to combine your ideas and keep everything streamlined.
You can also build physical mood boards for different smells, textures and travel souvenirs. A physical mood board is more personal and a great activity to do with your partner over a glass of wine.
Use the mood boards to stay on track and communicate your vision to various suppliers. You may find that your mood boards follow the same theme or style. Use this research to identify a specific theme and make sure you stick to it. Popular styles include vintage, festival, bohemian or movie themed.
It’s essential to be selective when you are writing your guest list. Determine who will be in the wedding party and who will be invited to the day and evening celebrations. Costs per head make up the most significant proportion of your expenses, so choose carefully! Avoid adding too many plus ones or inviting people you don’t want to come.
Choose wedding suppliers
When looking at photographers, caterers, and wedding entertainment, opt for suppliers that suit your wedding style and budget. Consider giving your photographer a brief of when photos need to be taken and the overall style. You will cherish your wedding album for years to come, so make sure it’s perfect.
Remember the smaller details
Make sure to remember the legal details, like getting your marriage license. Build a schedule for the day, detailing the time vendors to arrive, when the ceremony starts and much more.
Budget!
Write down a budget for your wedding, stag do, hen do and honeymoon. There’s nothing worse than going over budget and then forgetting essential items, like flowers! Decide how much you can afford to spend together and plan a detailed budget.
Having previously performed in various groups around South London’s music scene, Alice Barlow, Lara Laeverenz, Ella Rimmer, and Izzy Risk wanted to created a space where they could further explore their love of singing as a collective. They formed a concept-choir called WOOM, spent years practicing and performing, and finally sought to capture the magic of their live shows with their debut EP, Into the Rest. Released last week via House Anxiety, the six-track collection was produced and mixed by Tom Carmichael at London’s Fish Factory studios, where the four members recorded a selection of covers and originals nearly all in one take. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why it all sounds so seamless as they transition from the haunting original ‘Walk’ to a fusion of Bonnie Beecher’s Twilight Zone track ‘Come Wander’ and Linda Perhacs’ ‘Chichicum Rain’, or when a Frank Ocean medley leads the way to a beautiful rendition of Angel Olsen’s ‘Unfucktheworld’ and Outkast’s ‘Prototype’ segues into ‘Limit to Your Love’. But the appeal of WOOM goes beyond the harmonious nature of their almost-acapella reworkings – it’s because of their shared connection as singers that they’re able to tap into and combine the qualities that make different songs resonate, immersing the listener into a world that feels uniquely their own.
We caught up with WOOM for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight interview series to talk about the origins of their project, their new EP, and more.
I know you were all part of the same music scene in South London. How did you connect over your mutual love of singing, and how did that lead to the idea for WOOM?
Lara: It felt like it happened really naturally. We were all kind of going to these gigs in South East London, where individually everyone was singing and everyone was playing in different bands. I remember going – I wasn’t singing yet, really – but I remember going and seeing Ella perform, seeing Izzy perform, seeing Alice perform, all in their individual groups and just being so awed by their voices and just really wanted to sing with them.
Izzy: I think it came a bit out of being in projects but kind of wanting to do something more with singing and focused in singing.
Alice: Yeah, a space as well in which we could all have control and really collaborate, because we’d all been in bands or situations where we were the front singer, but the idea that came with WOOM was one of total collaboration.
Lara: I think also, Alice was singing Izzy’s band and Ella was singing in Izzy’s band, and then Ella and I were singing together, just like for fun, and then we would sing in our friend’s band as well. These things were already happening, so then for us all to come together just felt like it needed to happen. There was definitely a hunger for it.
Do you remember that specific conversation of how the idea came about, or was it more gradual?
Alice: I feel like I remember the conversation. I think it was one night, we were at a gig, and I think a few of us had been talking about starting a choir. And we were all probably quite drunk and sitting outside. I think it was just me, Lara and Izzy. We were like, “Yeah, let’s do this!” And then Lara was like, I know Ella wants to do something. And then at some point, I think Lara was like, “We should call it WOOM.” But the interesting thing about WOOM was that we started this idea as a project just for us, and we got asked to play at Brainchild Festival. But going there, we kind of had no idea how it would go down. We were planning to do a workshop and then we ended up being booked for a gig on that weekend. And it was when we played the gig and the feedback we got after that that I think really solidified it.
Over the four years that you’ve been together as a group, what would each of you say you’ve learned during that process of getting to know each other and singing together?
Ella: There’s something that happens within the body when you’re saying with other people, and I think there’s even been studies into how people’s heart rates will match up when they all sing together. It’s a very kind of visceral, ritualistic, embodied experience. And I think that focus on trying to be present in that has been something that I’ve definitely gotten from this. And more so than that, the challenges and limitations that occur when you’re four very different voices trying to create quite a unified sound, no one’s individual skill could substitute for the time that has been put into finding a space where everyone’s voice sits.
Alice: Another thing I’d say I’ve learned is the power of collaboration, because prior to that, I’d released stuff on my own and it’s such a different experience. Sometimes it’s tricky because we’ve all got really strong ideas, but it’s been an amazing thing to learn how to amalgamate all of those things and present it as one.
Izzy: Moving from what Ella said, a lot of the singing I’d done before that was just like, fronting a band. And although that can be really nerve-racking because you’re the only one singing, you also have the texture of the band and the instruments behind you. And I found sometimes these WOOM gigs are kind of even more nerve-racking because the vocals are so exposed and you’re creating songs and textures with just vocals.
Lara: I like what Ella was saying about being present. I think the four years of doing WOOM, it does just confirm that feeling you get when you sing and how much it puts you into your body. And then, harmonizing is really just listening most of the time, so it’s just about learning to listen to each other.
I think it’s interesting what Ella said about communal feeling of it, but at the same time what Izzy mentioned about how exposed it can feel. Especially because with the songs you perform, there’s often a lot of intimacy to them that’s accentuated in that way. Could you talk about what goes into the process of selecting the songs?
Alice: Usually the songs we choose are ones that collectively we’re all excited about. And really quickly, quite often, you can tell whether it’s going to work, like there’s been a few songs that we’ve really wanted to cover and we start doing it and it doesn’t necessarily click in the right way. But the ones that we do end up fully arranging are ones that quite quickly feel like it connects on some level. All of the covers we’ve done so far, I think, are some of our favorite songs ever.
I wanted to talk about the Frank Ocean medley in the EP specifically. Because all those songs are from Blonde, so I’m curious what the significance of that album is for you collectively, and what the process of bringing those tracks together was like.
Ella: All of us have a very deep respect for Frank and the way that he writes, like every aspect of the process is kind of masterful, I think, and Blonde in particular is such a triumph of an album. I remember being in Alice’s house or in Izzy’s house, and we would be singing like the ‘Seigfried’ part and someone would come in with another line from another song. And I think it’s this idea that those songs have this like liminal membrane between all of them, where when you listen to that album it’s not just like listening to separate songs on a list. It’s like they already speak to each other. And it was such a pleasure to experiment with kind of swimming through that a little bit. It felt very natural that they would all just sort of fit with each other in that way.
There’s definitely this natural kind of connection between these songs, as opposed to something like ‘Prototype’ and ‘Limit to Your Love’, where maybe it’s not as obvious.
Izzy: Maybe because we love melodies and these melodies of all these different songs that we love are kind of echoing in our mind, when we sing one, something else just pops in. It can be like a little trigger in the music or a word.
Ella: There’s a lot of background work and particular disciplines that we have to practice in order to make the arrangements we do, but I think when we’re really in the moment, you do sometimes feel like a vessel through which different melodies, like you said, pop in an echo in your head. It’s not like we’re sitting down being like, we’re going to construct this thing, necessarily. A lot of work goes into it beforehand and after afterwards, but in that moment, it’s almost like you just have to get out of the way to let that happen.
Alice: I think that’s the nice thing about ‘Limit to Your Love’, for example. Obviously, it was written by Feist, but probably the most commonly known version of it is by James Blake. When we were talking about it recently, it’s like this idea of these songs that are written that have multiple lives, and reimagining something or giving it a different life. I think it’s the same with ‘Unfucktheworld’, the Angel Olsen cover. We’ve had a few people come up to us and say, “When we listen to it, we even hear the lyrics differently because of the way you sing it,” even though they absolutely adore the original.
What I love about your rendition of that song is that there’s this loneliness to the track, especially with the line “I am the only one now,” but when you sing it all together it takes on a new resonance. How much of that was a conscious choice?
Lara: It was cool to find a song that we could really all just sing this chorus in unison. And I love what you say about that line, it does recontextualize it when you have four voices singing it. And when we sing it together, it’s really empowering. I feel like it does feel a bit like this idea of collective pain or collective grief that you can share, and it kind of eases that pain.
Alice: One really lovely thing was when we did the video for this one, we then got to really explore the meaning of the song and what it meant to us and the sense of escapism. We kind of got to relive a whole new meaning when we were creating the visuals; it felt like even more of a reimagining of a reimagining, if that makes sense.
My introduction to your sound was actually the original composition, ‘Walk’, and it did very much feel like a collective musical identity came through on that track. What do you remember about making the song, and how does it compare to reimagining other people’s tracks?
Ella: We’ve been wanting to do our own original material alongside the covers for quite a long time. And that’s something that we’ve kind of done maybe more in private and haven’t shared a lot of it. But I think we had like a little – I have old voice notes on my phone of the [sings melody from ‘Walk’] part. We were at my old house, I think it was towards the end of a writing session or something, and we were all just knocking around a little bit, allowing ourselves to be a bit dramatic or theatrical. And then I think Lara and Alice had a session and wrote lyrics for it and added a structure and sent back some ideas. But yeah, that was a special one. I think it’s representative of maybe more stuff that we might like to experiment with in the future.
Alice: For sure, I think what’s beauituful, when we came to writing that, we’d been arranging covers for so long that we’d already kind of had this form between us and almost like an unspoken knowledge of how our voices work together. And similarly to how you were saying earlier, Ella, some things, it does feel like you’re just like plucking them from the ether. And I feel like the songs we have written, they’ve all kind of come about like that.
You mentioned that it’s maybe more representative of where you might want to go in the future – do you think the covers will still be an integral part of the project?
Ella: The ratio might be a little different in terms of output, but I think the covers are a part of our – ‘cause we’ve actually had quite a few conversations about this over the process of making, and I don’t think we’ve arrived at an answer yet, but I think the covers are definitely part of our DNA and part of our art as well. They’ve taught us so much, and I don’t think we need to necessarily distance ourselves from that. But I do feel like ‘Walk’ was a really important marker in our history because it represents – there is almost sometimes a little bit of a pressure when you’re standing on the shoulders of giants, representing these names through your own versions of them. And the release of ‘Walk’, for me personally, marks a thing of like, “No, this stuff can stand alongside the work that we do that is an homage to other people.” And I find that really empowering, and that’s maybe something that all of us are quite keen to continue to step into.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Lupe Gajardo released her 2021.1 collection at London Fashion Week, which embraced “the new way of living.” Like the majority of other shows, the collection was presented digitally due to the pandemic.
Gajardo adapted to the changes of what the pandemic has produced by releasing her first ready-to-wear collection. Her collection has loose, symmetrical, as well as asymmetrical silhouettes. The colour palette in this collection has soft shades of colours and bright pops of hues like fuchsia and orange. This collection reminds us that we can remain stylish while in the comfort of our own homes.
Not long ago, Menswear brand Labrum London launched their 2021 autumn-winter collection named St. Giles Blackbirds. The collection pays tribute to the black community that settled in London’s St. Giles area, which was full of soldiers, sailors, and former slaves.
The inspiration for the collection is Olaudah Equiano, a man who fought to abolish slavery. The collection itself utilised traditional West African fashion. For instance, the trench coat was a tribute to Equiano’s style. Moreover, the collection displayed loose-fitting tailored garments with voluminous statement ruffles with blue, beige and a pop of bright yellows.
Labrum London continued to be aware of the production wastage by having 70% of their collection made up of deadstock fabric and factory surplus from the previous seasons. They used durable materials to expand the longevity of their garments. The accessories were made up of 80% upcycled materials.
Ahluwalia, a fashion label by Priya Ahluwalia, presented a short film in collaboration with musician Cktrl for her collection Traces. Priya Ahluwalia is an LVMH prize finalist and fashion award winner who launched her menswear brand in 2018. Her collection Traces explores the Harlem Renaissance by combining elements between the era, her London roots, and upcycling journeys. The collection absorbs a dark colour palette with diverging quaking colours. It debuts her new emblem, which symbolises“a compass-like insignia made out of four afro-combs pointing to each of the four corners of the world.”
Bianca Saunders, currently part of the BFC’s NEWGEN programme, presented her 2021 menswear autumn-winter collection titled Superimposed. Saunders experimented and pushed the boundaries of traditional tailoring with this collection. Whilst she worked on her collection, she drew inspiration from the photography of Man Ray, “I felt that his work really linked to what I do, this idea of using bodies as sculptures, and seeing how clothes move within the context of a body’s movement,” she said. Saunders also took inspiration from Erwin Wurn’s photography of stretched fabric. The fashion film itself was inspired by Blood of the poet, an experimental film by Jean Cocteau. This collection is Saunders’ yet most innovative as she explored varying cuts, fabric manipulation, and print.
Talking about the collection Saunders said: “I just wanted to create a collection that will make people feel good about themselves when they wear it.”
Just recently, Jamie Wei Huang displayed her autumn-winter 2021 collection Detour at London Fashion Week. The designer was inspired by the song ‘Hotel California’ by the rock band The Eagles. In this collection, Wei Huang explores the journey to a persons’ destination, looking at failures and successes.
The collection itself is playful and vibrant; it combines diverse materials to create garments with various combinations of colours, textures, and materials.
Edward Crutchley, a London based designer, released his autumn-winter 2021 collection called Florizel. Crutchley’s collection pays homage to the north of England. “I wanted to pay homage to that sort of gritty glamour you only find up north,” adds Crutchley. Crutchley is another designer who is committed to being environmentally sustainable in his practices. He uses materials such as organic silk and recycled polyester. Some of the knitwear we see, such as the cardigan stitch pullover, ribbed bandannas and cashmere beanies, are by Johnsons of Elgin. Talking about knitwear for the collection Crutchley said it was “washed in water from the River Teviot, which contains the perfect blend of natural pH and mineral content for the softest natural finishing.”
With the north of England being such a key influence on the collection, one of the key elements that influenced the colour pallet is the northern landscapes containing muted, dull-like colours. Crutchley utilised muted colours with juxtaposed prints such as plumage of ostrich feathers, foliage, and Fresco’s temple found in China.
