Following on from our initial coverage of this exciting female solo artist, (which can be found here), we are happy to pass you a fresh cut that’s recently been handed to us. The new video for her song This Ain’t No Hymn arrived a couple of day ago and is well worth getting onto the blog waves.
Like some mysterious ghost of the music scene, Becky Jones, was previously seen as part of the amazing Groove Armada and before that as the singer in the band The RGBs. Both of these outfits utilised her astonishing voice, which can range so high the Himalayas should be jealous.
You get this beautiful skill on full show with the new video, alongside some great visuals, with costumes and dancers that are reminiscent of the drama we have observed over the last year with the excellent IAmAmIWhoAmI.
The track is part of the Anatomy EP, which is due for a release on March 28th. It’s been packed out with some interesting and varied remixes, from some hot producers du jour. Some of these we’ve listed below for you taste buds to sample.
With our radars now properly locked onto Saint Saviour we promise to bring you any further interesting news as it appears on the scene. If the exciting promise that’s been on show with her initial releases are setting the tone for the full album then you can expect us to be all over her in the coming months. (MB)
Saint Saviour, real name Becky Jones, has been known to many of you for some time. She was a member of the synth pop band The RGBs, but most of you will recall her vocals on the Groove Armada album, Black Light. She toured extensively with the latter around the globe, but having returned back to the UK, she’s now ready to push her solo career front and centre.
With all of this useful experience in the industry it should come as no surprise that she’s also spent time as a vocal coach, which in turn has allowed her to deliver something quite extraordinary – her voice. Upon these early solo compositions, it’s nothing short of astonishing. We know the likes of Florence & The Machine, or perhaps more recently, Clare Maguire, have shown us their special singing talents, particularly when seen live, but some talents are simply more special than others. Her ability is right up there with the likes of Annie Lennox or Kate Bush at their most glacial and majestic.
Much of Becky’s solo work to date has comprised of stripped-down ballads over a lonely piano, but things are set to breach fresh grounds with the new EP, ‘Anatomy‘. Up to now, if you were to head over to her Myspace, you can still hear these beautiful, stripped-down, narrative songs. The track ‘Fallen Trees‘ is an atmospheric, hollow song, which, although reminiscent of ‘I Hope There’s Someone‘ by Antony & The Johnsons, is a wonderful showcase of her vocal abilities, hitting pitches so high that even dogs probably can’t hear.
The other song currently listed on her Myspace, is the cover of Joy Division‘s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart‘. This is regarded by many as one of the best songs ever written, so it takes a brave soul to even contemplate covering it. However, she not only makes it her own, but adds an entirely new and rather appropriate haunting atmosphere to it.
So as we turned to the new EP, we were met with it’s opener, ‘This Ain’t No Hymn‘, which immediately floored us with it’s dramatic scale, but also showed off a surprising introduction of new elements of her music. Electronic rumbles shudder behind her voice and thumping drums give the song a heartbeat.
Fans of IAmAmIWhoAmI or Fever Ray will adore the entire EP, as her heady concoction of icy climates and dramatic soundscapes are as accessible and attractive as it gets. The second track, ‘Birdsong‘, is one of the highlights, allowing her voice to be stretched over a song that fizzes throughout, reminding us of Kate Bush turned up to eleven. We have it available for you to hear as an exclusive below. It’s yet another example of her outstanding vocal skills, matched with big chords and a wall of sound so large the Chinese would be jealous.
You currently have a chance to catch her live, as she’s supporting Clare Maguire and Hurts at various venues around the UK. The Recommender saw her perform live this week and, rather satisfyingly, she looks utterly comfortable on stage and has a natural presence.
On top of spending up to ten hours a day honing her unique vocal talent and having performed alongside major artists at large arenas, she’s also a multi-instrumentalist! That’s not the whole of her CV either, as she’s also worked as a promoter at The Tramshed venue in Tooting, hosting the likes of Marina & The Diamonds.
With regards to what is already available, she had a single, ‘Woman Scorned‘, out last October and the new EP is scheduled to arrive on March 21st. We can’t wait, as we are now in the process of watching a butterfly emerge from the industry chrysalis here, so although we say thank you to Groove Armada, we also have to state that their loss is definitely our gain. (MB)
