It used to seem pretty clearly defined. When I was growing up, it seemed that all protest songs were written by Bob Dylan (Blowin’ In The Wind; The Times They Are A-Changin’; Subterranean Homesick Blues; It Ain’t Me Babe…right through to Hurricane and Joey). It also seemed that he was protesting against social injustice, social constraints and the suppression of personal freedom.
As I listened to more and more music, and folk / folk rock in particular, it was clear that the protest song had been an important outlet for the downtrodden, their supporters, militants, beatniks, poets, activists, blowhards, film makers, playwrights, comedians, opportunists and both the righteous and misguided, for years.
The trend has continued, but protestation is all around us, not only in song and the written word but on the streets, the workplace and court rooms of the world.
A few years back Neil Young, (composer and performer, along with his cohorts in CSNY, of Ohio, one of the great protest songs) made an album called Living With War, which was a clumsy and rather clichéd attack on the Bush administration of the day. When promoting this record, which I don’t doubt was a sincere statement, despite its creators artistic misfire, Young claimed he had to do it. This says two things: protest songs appear to have gone underground, and Neil Young is out of touch with the cutting edge art he once towered over like a colossus.
People still write and record great protest music, but the press, radio and TV, for the largest part, now do not want to offend their advertisers, (just like in the fifties!) and are completely out of touch themselves. Dark days are upon us, and the response from the underground, always the first to address matters of social importance, has been strong with Arcade Fire, Eels, M.I.A., Ben Sommers and The Supernovas all striking out with words of protest…
“Never has this writer been so amazed and enthralled by a singer/songwriter as I am by one, Ben Sommers. Naturally gifted and with such a wild imagination, Ben has put together one of the most ambitious projects I think I have ever encountered. The album is called ‘Avocado Chip’ and with it’s post-apocalyptic imagery and Orwellian subtext, you can’t help but be totally seduced by this bleak and tragic world that Ben has created”.
‘A Town Called Starving Jane’ is the starting point of the Avocado Chip saga. CLICK HERE for to read the Ben Sommers NEN, interview.
Mozzy Green are Ben Sommers and Anna Scott, and they make sublime, intense, delicate and powerful music that’ll invade your ears, brain and heart.
Recently featured in Cent magazine alongside Mumford & Sons and Jay Jay Pistolet, as the artists at the forefront of the current nu-folk boom, we sat the dup down and interrogated them on a number of subjects…
Q1: Where did you get that name?
Anna: The Mozzy were an ancient race, inhabiting our earth circa 600BC. They were an advanced but vertically challenged group of beings. Early drawings found indicated that they were a hybrid race, with features found in humans, droids and nanny goats. They were fearsome warriors and the ‘Mozzy Green’ is the name given to their most famous battle (the stories of which Homer recited, but they were deemed too stupid when compared next to the Odyssey, so were never published) for the then sought after material of the era – the pea. The Mozzy were triumphant, but the battlefield was a mess, ironically culling any pea growth the two sides were fighting to control. The Mozzy were left stained green, and the subsequent, albeit last generation of the Mozzy, were born green. This pigmentation alteration remains a mystery to this day, but scientists are currently investigating into whether this case could throw some light on to what happened to the smurfs.
Ben: It’s the name of an ancient medicinal drink used by a small tribe of transvestite hunters who were based near to junction 23 of the M25. Obviously before the M25 was built, but in that general area. Apparently the soil is extremely fertile around there. We saw the name in a book and liked it.
Q2: Tell us a little bit about the band’s formation and history.
Anna: We’ve had a few incarnations, I joined in 2005 when we were about 6 strong. Since then we’ve slimmed down – not on purpose, but we are now a duo with a drummer for the bigger gigs.
Ben: There has been many line ups over the years. I began recording under the name Mozzy Green in 2004 and later met Anna around 2005. In between then and now we have had around fifteen different band members. We moved to London in 2007 and gigged solidly for two years. It’s an ever changing vessel and I think I like it that way.
Q3: Your influences are not immediately apparent. Who would you cite?
Anna: We’ve both got a wide range and lots of differing influences, mine range from Bach, Palestrina, Shostakovitch, Stravinsky, Debussy, to various D&B artists, trad and modern folk, various types of jazz, Indian Arabic and Russian folk, lots & lots…
Ben: Imitation is not something we want to do as a band and so there are no immediate influences we would cite to describe to somebody what we sound like. I guess our main influences are the sounds of our instruments that make the feelings we have inside of us come out when we write. Artistic influences for me personally include Syd Barrett, Tom Waits, Peter Gabriel…
Q4: What are you currently doing, and what are your plans for 2010?
Anna: We’re recording an EP at the moment, and have some good gigs lined up – we’re on at the Junction Cambs in June. We also have a plan to turn the entire population green (like the Mozzy of old) but that’s on the backburner at the moment.
Ben: Currently Mozzy Green are writing and recording for a debut EP. Both of us have solo projects and working with other bands. Myself, I’m working on a project called Avocado Chip which will be coming out on 360. It’s a pretty big project so keep your ears peeled for details. Anna is recording solo material and also working with a few bands, namely Underground Railroad who are signed to One Little Indian.
Q5: Are there any bands and artists currently playing that you like?
Anna: Unfortunately I live on a forced diet of Radio 2 at work at the moment, nothing that inspiring on there, but I do like Ruth Theodore, Bat for Lashes, Gogol Bordello, The Strangerhood are awesome, Imogen Heap, to name but a few…
Anna: That depends…the voice that musicians have to say what they need to say is so very important and should never be censored (like the Dixie Chicks were..) but if you mean ”politics” in the industry, then no, but anything that generates revenue will always attract situations where politics will arise. Music in an ideal world would be pure and free of greed and vanity, but as soon as it becomes a living, the politics begins. I think that’s got a lot to do with why there’s been a shift towards more independent models: you’ll find a little less politics and more creative freedom.
Ben: If a person has an opinion on a subject then I think they have the right to express it, no matter what they do for a living. Would you ask ‘does politics belong in plumbing?’ Well as long as the plumber does his job and fixes your sink then it’s your choice if you want to make him a cup of coffee and chat to him about the Labour party for half an hour. The same applies to music. If an artist feels compelled to campaign about things they feel strongly about then who am I to say that they shouldn’t. It’s my choice to listen or not listen. Music should be a free for all for any subject or feeling or anything the artist wants to express. There is far too much focus on ‘Oh, I hate that band, they always rant on about the church, or love, or grapefruits, etc etc.. fuck it, don’t listen to them then if it pisses you off. I take my hat off to any band or artist who honestly writes about what they actually feel. So yes, politics does have a place in music. As much as anything else does.
Q7: The music business, such as it is, appears to be populated by opportunists, sharks and leeches. How do you navigate these treacherous waters?
Anna: Trial and error I think! You listen closely to what fellow musicians say and experience, and you have to research but ultimately go with your gut instinct. There are so many bands and artists who can be romanced by the idea of a quick rise to success, and there will always be people ready to exploit that. I think you have to become business savvy and not get excited about seemingly good opportunities that could come back to bite you later. We all still fall to exploitation when playing live for free, because if we didn’t do it, there would be a queue of other bands who would. It will take all the bands on the live circuit to stand up and refuse to play unless promoters and venues start to pay the bands who generate them money.
Ben: We bought guns.
Q8: Obama or David Icke?
Anna: David Icke, Crazy (or at least that’s what we’re meant to think) but inspiring.
Ben: Both are good at talking bullshit for hours. Although David’s is more often entertaining and I’m positive – he’s the more honest of the two. All Obama is, is a charismatic actor to charm the masses. He works for the banks, not the people. So fuck him.
Q9: Coca Cola offer you £500,000 for the use of a song for their ad campaign. What do you do?
Anna: Tell them to p**s off.
Ben: Now how do I answer this? We could say ‘no way would we ever work with a corporate company like Coca Cola. It would destroy our credibility among our peers and we’d be forever labeled a sell out by future generations’. Or we could say, ‘hell yeah, £500,000? For that money we’d write a song for Pepsi’. Ah, I don’t know. Depends how hungry I was on the day. As I’m writing this I’ve not long finished my dinner. So today I’ll say no.
Q10: London: hell hole or paradise?
Anna: Bit of both really, I used to live there and it sapped the energy out of me, I didn’t bounce off the wonderful hive of creativity like I hoped, but now when I visit for gigs or generally, it’s inspiring and full of life. I always go back to the sticks feeling revived and full of ideas. It’s an amazing city, I think sometimes you can become blind to what’s around you if you’re there for a while.
What a year it’s been! We released our first record on 27th July 2009 – Krakatoa’s debut single ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Revolution’ on limited edition 7” single and digital download. This was quickly followed by The Supernovas’ debut single, ‘Ace Face’, once more as a 7” single and download. Roses Kings Castles, the side project of Babyshambles drummer Adam Ficek, was next with the ‘Apples And Engines’ EP, issued on CD and download. Liverpool’s merry pranksters, The Know delivered their debut single The Jackal as a download shortly after.
The second Krakatoa single, ‘Fat Cats’ was released in November, as the lads headed out on an eighteen date tour supporting Alabama 3, which was a roaring success, with the boys winning fans everywhere they went. The Supernovas have just been added to the bill for three Babyshambles gigs next week, and the following week Gaoler’s Daughter take up two slots. In the past few weeks we have released singles and EP’s by London’s raggle taggle popsters Gaoler’s Daughter; ten piece indie pop soul groovers White Collar Weapons; Swedish psych shoegazers Mono Stereo, and hotly tipped Dubliners Reader’s Wives.
A 25 track compilation album of the work of Liverpudlian legend Dean Johnson was released last week, and his entire catalogue of sixteen albums will be released by 360 in 2010. Next year also sees the release of the second Roses Kings Castles album; the debut album by the magnificent Ben Sommers; the second singles by The Supernovas, Reader’s Wives and Mono Stereo; debut releases from The Savants and Inwits; An EP of five new songs by Sunderland song writing sensation Paul Liddell, and a whole host more!
We here at 360 love music, so it’s not just about what we do, it’s about the amazing array of worldwide talent who defy the naysayers by producing great artistic work in times of supposed darkness. So here’s a big shout out to all the artists who made great albums in 2009:
A Camp, Air, Alberta Cross, Alessi’s Ark, Amazing Baby, Animal Collective, Asobi Seksu, Blitzen Trapper, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Sarah Blasko, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Brakes, The Cave Singers, Coconut Records, Marshall Crenshaw, Crocodiles, Crystal Antlers, Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, Dead Man’s Bones, The Decemberists, Alela Diane, The Drums, The Duke & The King, Thomas Dybdahl, Eels, Empire Of The Sun, Forest Fire, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ghoststory, Girls, Great Lake Swimmers, Grizzly Bear, The Handsome Family, Hatcham Social, Imogen Heap, Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey, Ida Maria, The Leisure Society, Local Natives, Madness, Metric, Miike Snow, Rhett Miller, Okkervil River, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Papercuts, Phoenix, Pink Mountaintops, Jay Reatard, Reverend & The Makers, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Hope Sandoval, 7 Worlds Collide, The Shivers, Soap & Skin, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Mindy Smith, St. Vincent, Jamie T, Theoretical Girl, Tim Ten Yen, Tinariwen, The Trinity, Vetiver, Vivian Girls, M. Ward, Wavves, White Denim, Wilco, Wooden Shjips, The XX, Yves Klein Blue and PROBABLY A LOAD MORE WE HAVEN’T DISCOVERED YET.
