A couple of years ago I was going down a YouTube rabbit hole watching 'Wedding Present' live performances and stumbled across a performance of 'My Favourite Dress' by a young girl on a ukulele.
That was my introduction to Amelia Coburn, Teesside born singer and songwriter, who at the time had been nominated in the 2017 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards.
I was transfixed watching Amelia performing some well-known songs of my youth, including my favourite song by The Jam, 'Down In A Tube Station At Midnight'.
What grabbed me, as well as sounds that she could make come out of the instrument, and the way it was percussive as well, was the range and delivery in Amelia's voice, particularly liking the way she'd drop into her 'own accent' to accentuate certain words.
Further searching led me the 2016 debut album 'Nuke' which features interpretations of well-known tracks from everyone from Bowie to Blondie and The Specials to Stone Roses.
Following on from her debut release she followed this in 2017 with the album 'Amelia Coburn' the sound expanded beyond just the ukulele with percussion and even glockenspiel added. This album features a mix of interpretations (including The Clash and Dexys) alongside originals tracks, 'Song of The Sea Rover' and 'In The Arms Of Morpheus'. The standout for me though is the luscious Bond Themeseque sounding 'Dream Another Day' which sounds like there is an orchestra on there.
2018 saw the release of an EP '17th of July' featuring a mix of original tracks and versions of covers including a beautiful version of Radiohead's 'No Surprises' (a duet with David Benjamin)
Amelia's Bandcamp page is... HERE
Whilst no releases in 2019 Amelia was still busy preforming... but what else?
Hi Amelia, how are you?
Hi Iain! I’m good thanks, considering the situation.
I’ve just finished my last ever piece of coursework at University, so now I can finally relax properly.
It’s nice having the time during lockdown to practice music for fun, and spend the day reading and cooking.
What have you been up to since the release of the '17th of July' EP? I heard there are plans for a new album.
A couple of months after the release of that EP, I moved to Paris to embark on the first of three countries on my year abroad, which is a compulsory part of my modern language’s degree at University (French, Spanish and Russian).
I later studied in Puebla (Mexico) and St Petersburg, and throughout this time, I slowly but surely wrote some new songs, mostly inspired by the array of cultures and people I came across, whilst simultaneously balancing my studies.
I’m aiming to put together both new and slightly older original songs and, Covid-19 permitting, release a new album of self-penned material at some point this year.
On YouTube there is a clip of you doing an excellent version of 'Up The Junction' recorded at 'Costa Del Folk' in Ibiza in 2018. Are there any plans to record/release this?
Thank you!
I actually did record a demo of this cover which is now lurking about somewhere in the archives. But going ahead, I want to move away from covers so that I can focus on my original material.
I’ll still release the odd cover if I think I can bring something new and surprising to it, and I’ll definitely keep them in my live sets, but I think anything I record and release from now will be stuff I’ve written.
How did 'Costa Del Folk' come about?
I came onto the folk scene after being nominated for the BBC Young Folk Award in 2017, where my performance caught the eye of promoters from Cambridge Folk Festival, and I was invited to play Stage 2!
I think from performing at prestigious events like these, your name easily gets passed around, which opens doors to even more opportunities, and that’s how I got to play at Costa del Folk.
Also, in 2018 you played at Dave Gedge's 'At The Edge Of The Sea' festival in Brighton.
How did it feel performing his most famous and popular song in front of him and a partisan crowd?
It was pretty daunting, I must admit!
Playing covers of songs is always prone to getting some stick, especially because I play them in my own style, which people either love or hate (I’ve had plenty of Paul Weller devotees give me hate because of my quirky cover of ‘Down in the Tube Station at Midnight. Ha!)
But performing a band’s song in front of the lead singer, especially a band that you’ve idolised from a young age, was really nerve-wracking. Luckily, the crowd at that festival was lovely and receptive, and David Gedge even mentioned later that day that my cover made him emotional. What a compliment!
You've probably covered this many times, so apologies. Your Dad must have a fantastic record collection?
He really does! I think it’s fantastic, because it’s so eclectic (and of course, full of great music.)
Even from the cradle, my Dad would play me 90s alternative bands like Radiohead, and then when I was around 11 or 12 I got into some more ‘guilty’ pleasures of his, including ABBA, The Carpenters and even musical soundtracks.
When I reached my later teenage years, I began discovering the new wave, punk and 70s pop sections of the collection, namely The Clash, The Police and David Bowie. I’m very thankful I was raised on such a healthy musical diet - it’s really shaped my set-lists and how I write music today.
The songs you've interpreted are some of the most loved from the 70's and 80's. Your version of 'Complete Control' got me reaching for my copy of The Clash's 'Sandinista' which features 'Career Opportunities' sang by the Micky Gallagher (of The Blockheads) kids...
Are there any 'unexpected' songs you've considered covering/recording? Dead Kennedys? Rage Against The Machine etc?
I think singing slightly obscure songs by The Clash or Sex Pistols on a ukulele is already pretty unexpected, especially in folk music environments. I once played Anarchy in the UK to an audience of pensioners, which surprisingly went down a treat.
I’ve never really listened to much ‘hard’ rock, but as for ‘unexpected’, I once considered covering Rappers Delight by Sugarhill Gang because I know the rap lyrics off by heart (probably better to do the shorter, single version rather than the 12” 15 minute version - ha!)
Is it fun choosing tracks for your Spotify Playlist? (Amelia's Month Of Music)?
Do you spend hours deliberating over the running order?
It is, yes. The playlist is a good mixture of my all-time favourite songs, thrown in with a few new findings from the past month that I’ve had on repeat.
I also like to include some of my musician friends and local artists that I am a fan of, for others to perhaps discover.
I love curating it over the course of a few days and really trying to put something in there for everyone, and even spending a while making the running order fit well so it flows like an album would.
I missed the recent online gigs you'd done on Facebook, are you planning on doing any more?
Yep, for sure, especially if virtual gigs become the new normal. I really enjoyed the two I’ve already performed.
The only thing is, Facebook and Instagram are both saturated with so many online concerts at the moment, and people are a little ‘Zoom’d’ out! I think it’s best to keep people wanting more and waiting a bit longer to do the next one, or maybe make it a ticketed event so it’s a little more exclusive.
What will be the first thing you do once Lockdown is over?
I’ll go give my grandparents a big hug, organise in-person concerts and ideally a tour, and then take myself and my ukulele backpacking round Latin America
Finally...
5 ‘Challenging’ Quick Fire Questions…
Favourite Gig as a performer?
Cambridge Folk Festival
Favourite Gig as a punter?
Any of the multiple Belle & Sebastian gigs I’ve been to.
Favourite album
Power, Corruption & Lies - New Order
Favourite single/song
Life on Mars - David Bowie
All-time favourite band/artist
The Smiths
Iain Key 2020
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