A spoken word piece composed and recorded on my Roland Go Keys. Lyrics and vocal recording done together live, no words written down just the word Random. Everything else is freestyle spoken word. For SS group 8th May 2021.

RANDOM

This song was inspired by a photo of an urban landscape. I was thinking about what we try to do to feel in this busy world.

Nature's Night Mix 1 demo (1)

The first single of our upcoming EP, Weather Balloons, out on 8th June.

SONG CREDITS
Words and Music: Dora Lachaise and Jonni Slater
Produced by: James Sanger and Jonni Slater
Recorded at Vibey Studios and 79Wave Studios
Mixed by: Jonni Slater
Mastered by: Nick Cooke

Dora Lachaise: Vocals
Jonni Slater: Vocals, Dulcitone, synth, acoustic guitar
Ian Bostic: Drums
Jonni Slater and James Sanger: Omnichord

LYRICS

Dora:
There’s no sign on the door
There’s a crack in the window
Never been here before
But I know that you are here

Jonni:
And I wait for you
Senses sharp
Can never close my eyes
And when I run
I will melt into the nigh
An empty room
And I was never there

Dora:
Not this time
You won’t get away

 You’re the pins on my map
You're the year that’s behind me
You’re the face in the photograph
You smile just to defy me

Jonni:
And you’ll never know
How close I’ve been
I faced you in a crowd
Turn my head
Held my nerve and walked on by
A heartbeat and I was never there

Dora:
Not this time
You won't get away

Jonni:
Whatever separates me from you
An ocean or a door
I’ll always be one step ahead
Towards what’s coming for us all

Dora:
There’s no sign on your door
There’s no light through your window

Sign on the Door

Dora Lachaise & Jonni Slater - Sign on the Door

This months POWA Artist is Somerset based, award winning singer songwriter Sharon Lazibyrd. 

Influenced by her experiences, musicals, music hall and everything from Julian Cope to English folk, Sharon writes striking and melodic songs and makes music that matters. Her debut solo album, Half Shame and Half Glory, was critically acclaimed and played across independent and community radio, BBC folk and acoustic shows, BBC Introducing and on BBC 6 Music. She was BBC Introducing Artist of the week in 2018. She has performed across the UK and in Ireland including Glastonbury and Tolpuddle and as half of the duo Lazibyrd winning the South West Music Awards Best Folk Act of 2013.

“This song started life as a writing prompt I tried out in the Sunday Songwriting Facebook group run by songwriter and producer Rosie Bans. The task that week was to write something about the year of your birth. I was born in 1970 so I looked to see what events were important for women that year, as that was something I thought would be interesting to write about. I came across the Leeds textile workers strike, which I hadn't known about beforehand, which was actually one of the precursors to the Equal Pay Act. I started to read news stories and archive material about the strike and this inspired the lyrics. For example, the first line, ‘angry women shook a city’, came from a newspaper headline. As I was writing the song I also started to reflect on my own experience as a woman and the inequalities that persist, such as the gender pay gap, so I included references to some of them as well.”

Angry Women

This is a fairytale romance with an ambiguous twist that came to me in a dream. It features the amazing guitar skills of Leandro Maia alongside Damon and Kate Bridge, Tom Cory and myself. Leandro told me that the song is a milonga, a relation of the tango. It is the final track from my debut album Half Shame and Half Glory.

And They Danced

This song is based on a sad and true story about a three clock repairer and recluse found in a 1952 Daily Mirror (pictured). The newspaper  was itself found in the wall of a cottage being renovated in Dorset. It was such an interesting and intriguing tale that I had to write a song about it. The end result Mr Smilie was the opening track of my debut solo album Half Shame and Half Glory released in 2018.

Mr Smilie

Jan 2018 interview and live tracks broadcast across the nation on BBC Georgey Tonight. I was BBC Introducing Artist of the Week on her show supported by BBC Introducing in the West.

BBC Introducing Artist of the Week- Sharon Lazibyrd Interview and Live Tracks

Written and performed by Sharon Lazibyrd, recorded live in my kitchen with a violin overdub. A song with non English words, a task I set for Sunday Songwriting. Commentary on where we are today. When I see the world, I think, what is this? 

In our world what's going on
Tear gas on the streets
Leaders who are lying to us
Intimidation feats

Quand je vue le monde
Quand je vue le monde
Je pense
Qu'est-ce que c'est?

What will be the new normal
Is this pride before a fall
Are we driven to test our sight
To find out what's wrong from right

In our world what's going wrong
Fake news and trite tweets
Crisis and mismanagement
Nationalism heats

What will be our rally call
Are our eyes right off the ball
Can we unite what us divides
Stem the fears we keep inside

Quand je vue le monde
Quand je vue le monde
Je pense
Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Quand Je Vue Le Monde

This track is the result of a lockdown collaboration between three songwriters who have never met in the real world. Jen Athan, Sharon Martin and Amanda Brown met as part of Sunday Songwriting, a lockdown songwriting group. This song is the result of their collaboration based upon a Letter of Note written by actress Hermione Gingold in 1950 after receiving a threatening letter about the play Fallen Angels that she was appearing in where the 2 female characters considered adultery. This song is inspired by and tries to capture the spirit of her letter of reply.
Dearest friend, friend of a friend
Our correspondence is ending
Dearest friend, friend of a friend
I am an angel that's fallen

Credits
The song was written by  Jen Athan, Sharon Martin and Amanda Brown. 
Vocals, piano and production Jen Athan
Backing vocals violin and viola Sharon Martin
Recorded at home in Glasgow and Somerset
June 2020

Angel that's Fallen

This is a song for the last Sunday songwriting. The year is 1970 and I found out about the strike by women textile workers in Leeds which inspired this song. 

Angry women shook a city
Struck for parity not pity
You're not a worker you're a pair of hands
Not the breadwinner, you couldn't understand
Still they took a stand
They took a stand

Year of silence and frustration
Keeping mum and knowing your station
They came to an end upon the day
They asked for another shillings pay
Their actions paved the way
Actions paved the way

Angry women closed the factories
By the fourth week they were on their knees
Though the unions didn't support their plight
30,000 they stood up for what was right
We owe them their foresight
Their foresight

Now this story isn't ending
There are messages need sending
The pay gap's still reality
Whose more likely to be cooking tea
Our actions set hopes free
Actions set hopes free

Angry women shook a city
Struck for parity not pity
Angry women we still need 
To fight for all equalities
Be the change you want to see
The change you want to see

1970 Actions Set Hopes Free

"I love her gorgeous folk" Chris Hawkins BBC 6 Music
"A voice that can really deliver the core of the narrative” Neil King FATEA magazine
"A blissful piece of folk pop"  Jason Ritchie . BBC Introducing Artist Sharon Lazibyrd is a talented, original and award winning singer- songwriter who writes striking and melodic songs. Her songs draw on her experiences and a musical influences from Julian Cope to English folk.  She is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed across the UK and Ireland and as half of the duo Lazibyrd won the South West Music Awards Best Folk Act. Her songs have been shortlisted in competitions, she has recorded a session for Bob Harris, she was invited to take part in a BBC Introducing folk residential and has had a track included on the BBC Introducing Mixtape on BBC Radio 6 Music. Contact at lazisharon@gmail.com