Samantha Whates – Waiting Rooms
Wonderful Sound – Out Now
In the short film, available on YouTube, about the making of Waiting Rooms, Samantha Whates’ new album, she says that she doesn’t know what she was going to do with herself now that the recording had finished. I suppose that this was such a large part of her life, spanning the period from June 2017, when the first recording took place, to January 2019 for the last two. Why so long? Well, for some musicians it is not just the recording but all the post-production. But here these tracks are recorded ‘live’. There is, of course, the mixing and mastering (in this instance by Douglas Whates and Tom Leader respectively) that takes place, but to all intents and purposes what we are presented with is a series of live recordings.
Now, these live recordings have been made, as the album title suggests, in waiting rooms around the country. They include waiting rooms at Dunoon Ferry Terminal, Loughton Tube Station, Bristol Old Police Station and Great Ormond Street Hospital. They give the songs an ambience that cannot be bettered, or perhaps even created, in a studio setting. In some, the background comes near to the front but far from being a distraction, it adds to the feel, to the reality and to the body of the music.
The thing that is apparent though when you first listen to the album is just the sheer quality of the music: crisp, clear and beautiful. This is a set of songs, all written by Samantha, that come from the heart and are great observations on life, whether that be hers or others; we can instantly relate to them and know that they reflect how we feel. Love is a theme that flows through this album, even if it is not always easy or does not run according to how you think it should, or even wondering how you can balance your love with someone else’s. The first song, I Love My Life is as good as an example as any. Life, as the song says, “although it’s hard as hell”, is a great deal better than the alternative. And then you look and see that the track was recorded in Great Ormond Street Hospital and those ephemeral, self-indulgent thoughts change, and the reality is clear that some people have to really fight to love their life and to stay for the love of others in theirs.
Another comment from the YouTube film concerns the perennial ‘is it folk’ question. Does that matter? Samantha challenges the perceived definition. These songs are in and of the places recorded. What thoughts do we have as we wait? What internal chats go through our heads as we stand around waiting for a train, a bus, someone? Vocalising these, expressing the thoughts of people, in public space, is this not ‘folk’? Perhaps a discussion to be had another time, but I for one am more than satisfied that this can be called folk if people need a label. To me its beautiful music that works and works exceptionally well.
Among the many things that really cannot be praised highly enough, the arrangements are outstanding. There is a range of instruments across the tracks: clarinet, recorders, harmonica, cello, viola which add to the inventive nature of the sound. The opening of Old Coat, complete with the buzz from the Bristol Old Police Station lights and the bass of Douglas Whates, creates and reflects the physical space in sound. Where can you go in a white-tiled room? A voice, alone, having one of those in-the-head dialogues?
Winter cold is on again
It reminds me of a time last year
I met you on a Friday night
We went to see what would become our favourite piece of art
It would be easy to draw comparisons with other singers but that would be lazy and disingenuous to Samantha whose voice hides little in the way of emotion but it is not mawkish. It is empathy, not sympathy we hear. Samantha may be concerned about what she is going to do now that the recording has been completed. I expect she will be kept very busy. Excellent.
https://smarturl.it/waitingrooms