On their latest single, South London’s ewe chose an apt song title for a band which thrives on the ‘live scene’…as they say below “this has never been an ‘internet band’, we’re DIY and amongst other things, we’re not well versed in the art of social media.” While COVID may have left them feeling “out of sight, out of mind”, there are many dappled colours in this one track that highlight the rich and vibrant influences they draw from. Despite its downtempo pace, subtle hints of jazz and tropicalia give oosoom a laid-back Latin feel that’s quite irresistible.
Written in the throws of uncertain times, oosoom is a break from ewe’s usual collective approach to music. Written, recorded and mixed in their Bermondsey studio, the song reflects on the mundanities, uncertainties and anxieties of lockdown life. Due to the restrictions, frontman and producer Cameron J Niven had to play almost every instrument on the track. Despite this, the track once again features the lustrous layered cello of Maya McCourt (Various Guises, Salt Moon, Ferris & Sylvester).
After a series of successful shows with the likes of Night Flight and Nicholas Edward Harris in 2020 and, with their sophomore EP on the horizon, like many, ewe had the rug pulled out from beneath them. They will be releasing music from this time of solitude throughout 2021, with their next release, Spring Swing coming out 9th April on Lydian.
Cameron of ewe:
Last February, our SE London studio was looking forward to welcoming people through the its doors, we were playing a lot of great gigs with more lined up, had an EP ready to release and I was about to get married – none of this happened. Further to that, through all of the iterations of the exchange (ewe stands for Edgar Wallace Exchange…), it’s always been about collaborating and for the recording / production process to be as live and tactile as possible.’
Our cellist, Maya, put it well… “our way of life is now high risk’’.’
It goes beyond stating the obvious that this has been a challenging year for everyone and this huge upheaval of – well – all of the things has left a lot of the musical community untethered. In spite of this, the way in which everyone responded with support of each other was inspiring. Personally, I did some composition projects, some solo live streams of which one, in particular, was wonderful, a fundraiser for Spiritual Bar in Camden which has been the home and launchpad of many great artists over the years. Nonetheless, this has never been an ‘internet band’, we’re DIY and amongst other things, we’re not well versed in the art of social media. So, as soon as possible, I dived back into our studio and took the opportunity to make a series of tracks that went beyond ewe’s usual remit. Essentially, I had endless jams with myself. It was weird, lonesome but ultimately freeing and after many, many hours, I finally completed a series of tracks to release month-on-month this year. They’re not perfect, neither am I but I trust they will at least get the feet tapping and minds eased as we hopefully, finally get to embrace each other again.
You can also hear oosoom in Folk Radio’s ‘Mellow Folk’ playlist on Spotify.
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Artwork: Edward Lloyd
Photography: Joe Warren