PicaPica (Rough Trade) to release debut EP ‘Spring & Shade’
Release Date: December 8th, 2017
Watch the video to ‘Small Time/Secret’ Here:
Rough Trade Records are excited to announce the release of the debut EP by
PicaPica ‘Spring & Shade’ on December 8th 2017. In addition to the CD release, a limited
edition of 500 copies worldwide will be released on 10” vinyl in the New Year.
One for sorrow and two for joy. PicaPica features the vocal interplay of Josienne
Clarke and Samantha Whates, dual front women who create powerful harmonies
atop layers of texture created by Adam Beattie & Sonny Johns, a tiding of magpies
picking shiny moments of tone and timbre from 60s west coast, sunshine pop and
indie folk. Josienne and Samantha met on the London acoustic music scene several
years ago and immediately shared a love of singing and writing. They have been
unofficially collaborating for years, often singing backing vocals for each other’s
projects or just singing harmonies together for the pure enjoyment of it.
PicaPica represents a long-held ambition to write, record and perform new material
together and to join with like-minded musicians to explore what it’s like to be in a
band. When writing, Josienne and Samantha (AKA “Pica One” & Pica Two”) take
two versions of the same idea and the songs are built around that concept in various ways, they sometimes even have two titles for each song, one by Josienne, one by
Samantha. Good music loves a contrast. Spring and shade, harmony and melody,
brightness and deadpan… So do PicaPica. As writers, they compose songs that
hold the sadness closer, yet let the joy fly higher.
“Pica Three”, aka Adam Beattie, Scotland’s king of soft-spoken chanson, brings
gently morphing textures and detailed guitar playing to every bar, while “Pica Four”
is Sonny Johns – a Grammy, Mercury and MOBO-nominated producer/engineer.
Sonny’s bass playing and production give PicaPica’s otherworldly compositions a
seriously grounded sound.
Their first EP, “Spring & Shade” contains four songs freely-designed to bewitch the
listener until its fifteen minutes are over. This is music for memories that creep in
under the door. Songs that wear their cares lightly, shining in the dark. Simply,
beautiful, beguiling, elegant sounds.
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