Two years ago Rettig released her excellent debut album The Scars They Leave.
Last year Rettig impressed with one of her best pieces ever (to my ears), titled Broken Bones (awesome bass play).
And here’s her only new music for 2023. It resonates as a continuation of Broken Bones with its slo-mo progression growing in intensity along its ambient way. A deep droning synth-bass and subtle drum play back Rettig‘s ever, both poignant and absorbing, voice
and combine all for a magnetic and spellbinding trip.
I guess this will sound weird, but if you speed up this jam you’ll get the same chilling
vibe of Cher‘s 1966 hit Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) (covered by countless artists) or vice versa.
WATCH/LISTEN
STREAM
BUY
.
Note to myself: add please more Where We Sleep music
to my 2024 wishlist.
Last AugustRethig released a new sassy single BROKEN BONES. A classy corker of a song.
And here comes another kick-ass cracker called THE POWER. On this new aggressive groover Rethig rants non-stop with anger and frustration. Again it’s a nasty bass riff that’s the backbone, while layers of menacing guitar electricity augment this piece’s rowdy roll.
“They Don’t Want The Truth / They Just Want The Power” bites on the chorus. I’m
quite sure with THEY she refers to the greedy Tories sharks in the UK who put
individual interest above public interest and they mask their impudent egoism
with an avalanche of lies, false promises, and misleading baloney. They just
replaced a charlatan (Boris Johnson) with another charlatan (Liz Truss) without
any shame.
Beth Rettig doesn’t back down and doesn’t swallow all the bullshit.
And that’s the loud and crystal clear message of this new anthem.
Turn Up The Volume: This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most tantalizing tracks Beth Rettig wrote/recorded in her musical journey. A slow-mo reflection on personal turmoil, driven by a repetitive bass-riff that got under my skin and kept on rotating in my head after just one spin. And when she adds psychedelic guitar pizazz and flashy fingertip touches, the bone-chilling progression gets even more poignant.
Beth Rettig‘s shadowy vocality seduces once again. To hypnotise, magnetise and mesmesize are familiar Where We Sleep characteristics I never get tired of.
The accompanying video is fully arresting. It visualizes the song’s ominous vibe and Beth‘s utterly cool presence (she just looks drop-dead gorgeous, partly rocker, partly
ancient goddess) perfectly. Subtle and eye-impressing, inventive and showy. Finally,
a clip that doesn’t attack your pupils with a tsunami of shots and arty farty effects, but sticks with the essence of the song and the artist’s spirit.
Broken Bones is a triumph in sound and vision.
Listen/watch
You can buy ‘Broken Bones’
here below via Bandcamp.
Written/performed by Where We Sleep Produced by Where We Sleep and John Cranmer Mixed by John Cranmer Video by Ashley Jones – http://ashleyjones.co.uk/
Despite the very difficult pandemic times, with less or no help (wake up government,
wake up filthy rich mega-stars, wake up corporate record labels) for DIY indie artists, Beth Rettig succeeds after last year’s mesmerizing and atmospheric debut EP, to
surprise us with her debut longplayer, one that will be on my headphones for quite
some time.
Beth Rettig: “It’s taken a while to get it finished and it’s been a learning curve. Most
of the album was written before the pandemic started (Missing Something and Everybody Leaves A Mark are the only ones written after the pandemic started) but it’s partly because
of the pandemic that I was able to get it together over the last year, a relatively insignificant silver lining of a dark time, I guess.”
You find everything your mind, heart, soul, and body needs for a 24-hour reality escape.
For dancing in the dark (not the Bruce Springsteen way) in the midnight hours to catchy guitar-crazy darkwave stompers (Drive / Ash and Bone), for twerking movements with
some slow-burning electro grooves ( Broken Things / This Way / Patience ) and for relaxing
at dawn with ruminant reveries (Morning Sun / Everybody Leaves A Mark / Lullabye).
The Scars They Leave evolves in a time frame between twilight and sunset. The magnetic voice of Rettig is the guiding torch. Both sensual and shadowy, haunting and hazy at times. The music feels like a cathartic exhaust valve, the words search for peace of mind.
Overall the fascinating feverishness of Chelsea Wolfe echoes in the back. Yes, intriguing, shady, and rousing. Rettig’s alter ego Where We Sleep is a comforting companion for the confusing times we all experience for so long now. Don’t miss this stirring journey.
Single/clip: Drive…
Stream/buy full album…
.
Written and performed* by Where We Sleep
*Guitars on Drive and Missing Something by Debbie Smith
Mixed and mastered by John Cranmer
Cover photo by Nando Carniel Machado
Artwork by Dominic Lee
Last year WHERE WE SLEEP, the solo project of British artist BETH RETTIG
made a captivating impression with touching debut EP Experiments In The Dark.
And today she dropped a new haunting meditation on Bandcamp.
If you were looking for a song that reflects these surreal science-fiction-like times,
then THE END OF THE WORLD is the one that fits 2020 perfectly. It’s a slow-burning electro-scape, both ominous and menacing although Rettig‘s shadowy voice resonates
as she wants to comfort the person(s) – close one(s) – who’s/are angry and scared.
Before you’re aware of it the enigmatic reverie vanishes in the silence, like a ghost.
Last year WHERE WE SLEEP, the solo project of British artist BETH RETTIG made a
lasting impression with the electro-touching debut EP Experiments In The Dark.
Today a new song popped up without any fuss nor pr-noise, pure Rettig. Everybody Leaves A Mark is a mournful reverie about leaving people behind, an introspective
ballad about fear of failure when it comes to commitment in a relationship. “We could
only ever disappoint each other”.
Musically it’s a captivating experience from the intimate piano intro to the haunting
finale with atmospheric strings synths. Rettig’s woeful vocals cause goosebumps and reflect sorrow, inability to connect with others, and hurtful tristesse. The troubling sentiment of Everybody Leaves A Mark makes you silent and musing. A delicate accomplishment reminding you of R.E.M.’s hit ‘Everybody Hurts‘.
BETH RETTIG, the arresting frontwoman of former British synth act Blindness started
her solo project WHERE WE SLEEP last summer with three ambient tracks (Veins, Crawl and The First One). And last May she released her impressive 5-track debut EP, titled ‘EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK‘ featuring members of The Fall, Echobelly and Curve. Five hypnotic electro grooves, five profound contemplations, five touchy sentiments. High-quality stuff with Rettig’s sensual voice causing goosebumps.
In an interview with Turn Up The VolumeBeth spoke about how hard it is for an indie artist to record music: “It’s really hard for independent musicians to release music. I’m not
sure everyone realises how much goes into getting one song sounding right. It’s so expensive
to get songs recorded, mixed, mastered, promoted etc. and I don’t expect to make any of that cost back from whatever I’m releasing. So at one point, it did occur to me to just release singles to make it a little easier and spread out the costs a bit. But I still like having a body of work of some kind. And, at some point, I’d like to get the EP out as a physical release and that’s obviously, easier than releasing several singles.”
Not the corporate acts need your support in these scary days, it’s artists like Beth Rettig who deserve your backing because this EP is a just great piece of work and we want her back with new music as soon as possible.
Impassioned singer/songwriter and performer BETH RETTIG, the arresting frontwoman
of former British synth force Blindness started her solo project WHERE WE SLEEP last summer with the release of three stirring ambient tracks. And last May her impressive
5-track debut EP, titled ‘EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK‘ featuring members of The Fall, Echobelly and Curve saw the day of light. Five gloomy electro grooves, five bedazzling sentiments, five magnetic moony moments, five vocal highlights.
So Turn Up The Volume is delighted to have a chat with Beth. But before starting
the Q & A let’s get in the right mood with her new clip for one of the EP’s intriguing
cuts. Here’s ‘CONTROL‘…
Hello Beth,
welcome…
1. Is WHERE WE SLEEP a BETH RETTIG solo trip or rather a collaborative project with befriended musicians helping you out to translate your musical ideas and the stories you want to tell?
“It’s a bit of both really. Three of the tracks on the EP feature guitarists, the other two are just me. I’m definitely hoping to keep the collaborative element going as much as possible. There are advantages to both formats. It’s nice to have the freedom and control in working by myself – and I am a bit of a control freak. But, I’m not a good enough musician to do it completely by myself. And, more importantly, you get so much from working with other people – new ideas that you wouldn’t have come up with on your own, new challenges, different moods and directions. And that’s really really exciting.”
2. What’s the story behind the name WHERE WE SLEEP?
“I actually set up a Soundcloud page before I started this as a proper project to repost stuff that I’d been doing – not just Blindness but a couple of collaborations as well – and have them on one page. So when I decided to release new songs under this project, I kept the name. There isn’t really a story behind the name – if there is, it’s probably a really boring one.”
3. Last year WHERE WE SLEEP shared its first tracks (‘Crawl’, ‘Veins,’ and ‘The First One’). Why did they not end up on the debut EP and making an album out of it?
“I did consider that, bringing it up to an album. I suppose I ended up just feeling like, as they had already been released, they could stand on their own and I should move forward. There were a couple of other factors as well, the first two songs were mixed by Guy Fixsen, whereas the others have all been mixed by John Cranmer. I wasn’t sure if they’d sound right together. Also, the five songs on the EP, for some reason, just seemed right together in my head.
It’s really hard for independent musicians to release music. I’m not sure everyone realises how much goes into getting one song sounding right. It’s so expensive to get songs recorded, mixed, mastered, promoted etc. and I don’t expect to make any of that cost back from whatever I’m releasing. So at one point, it did occur to me to just release singles to make it a little easier and spread out the costs a bit. But I still like having a body of work of some kind. And, at some point, I’d like to get the EP out as a physical release and that’s obviously, easier than releasing several singles.”
. 4. Do we need to take the EP’s title ‘EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK’ literally?
“I’m not one for talking about song meanings but I guess a little of all the above.
The title of the EP is obviously taken from the name of the last song. I just really liked
the title for the EP as well. It seemed to sum up the mood of it. And Experiments In The
Dark was the first new track that I wrote for Where We Sleep, before Where We Sleep was actually going to be a thing. It was the first new song I’d written in a while.”
5. I really dig the artwork of the EP, especially that very intriguing ring.
What represents or signifies that beautiful ornament?
“I don’t know that it signifies anything really. I have a bit of a thing for images of lizards.
I don’t know why. I really liked the ring and once I’d messed around with it, I just liked the image and though it worked well as a cover. “
6. ‘The Desert’ is my favorite track. Great swagger, great guitars, great vocals. Sounds also very personal. Will you share with us what it was that you wanted to express in that song?
“Again, I’m not that great at explaining songs. But I really like the imagery of driving through the desert night. I grew up in Africa and one of the things that really makes me yearn to be back there, is huge open spaces and skies. I’ve often felt quite overwhelmed when I’ve seen images of those endless skies and vast unpopulated plains. Even more so when I go back there. It wasn’t something I was conscious of when I wrote The Desert, but once it was written it was obvious that that nostalgia and need in me has found its way into some of my music.”
. 7. The title track deals with anxiety and a sort of claustrophobic fear when
being left alone? To me, it resonates like a universal feeling in these troubled, egoistic times we live in again the past few years. Do you agree?
“I don’t think that’s wrong – I think a lot of people are struggling to navigate the complexities of our current times. Experiments In The Dark certainly has a thread
of helplessness running through it.”
. 8. Does this new project mean that your former band BLINDNESS is over?
“So, Blindness ended in 2016 when I left London for a while, although we released the Monsoon EP, which we had already been working on, the following year. That’s how it is at the moment. I wouldn’t say that’s definitely it, because you never know, but we haven’t got any plans to do anything.”
9. What movie would you pick to visualize the EP’s
music on a big screen while playing?
“I actually don’t watch a lot of films anymore. But I guess it would be something dark, dramatic and visually beautiful. Something involving dystopia and rebellion.”
10. Next step for WHERE WE SLEEP?
“I’m hoping to do an album next. I have some songs written, one or two that I can start thinking about getting mixed. I have a few ideas about people I’m hoping to work with
on some of the other tracks as well, which I’m quite excited about so I’m starting to think about first steps for that now.”
Thank you for this interview, Beth.
May the road rise with WHERE WE SLEEP!
Stream/purchase EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK here…
. WHERE WE SLEEP: Facebook / photo on top by Nando Carniel Machado
BETH RETTIG, the imposing frontwoman of former British synth force Blindness started her solo project WHERE WE SLEEP last summer with the release of three stirring ambient tracks (Veins, Crawl and The First One). And just last week her 5-track debut EP, titled ‘EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK‘ featuring members of The Fall, Echobelly and Curve hit the streets. Five mesmerizing electro grooves, five spellbinding expressions, five mood swings. All family emotionally, yet all different sentiments. Put your headphones on, dim the lights, sit down, close your eyes and absorb these five fascinating and emotive experiments…
1. WHAT I DESERVE
A slo-mo Siouxsie like introspection dominated
by burning guitars that do your head in…
(photo by Nando Carniel Machado / received via Beth)
Beth Rettig, the notable frontwoman of former British electro act Blindness started her solo project WHERE WE SLEEP last summer with three strikingly ambient tracks (Veins , Crawl and The First One). Now she presents brand new track THE DESERT from her upcoming debut EP, entitled EXPERIMENTS IN THE DARK.
‘The Desert’ is an electrical groove with an intoxicating beat that creeps under your skin instantly while a harrowing guitar sends shivers down your spine. On top of it comes Rettig‘s mystifying vox. Splintering passion is at play here. ‘I destroy myself / There’s been
no-one else.’ Similar spellbinding sentiments as in Garbage‘s soul-stirring ‘Beloved Freak’. Haunting score! Absorb the gloom right here…
