Laura Kidd - She Makes War
Laura is a multi-instrumentalist, and records and performs as She Makes War. She is also a session bass player, film-maker and social media whizz.
As gloom-pop solo artist She Makes War, London based musician and visual artist Laura Kidd has been releasing music and quirky music videos since 2010. Travelling the length and breadth of the UK on Megabuses and steam trains to support the likes of Midge Ure, Chris T-T, Viv Albertine, Sick of Sarah and Tom Williams and the Boat, she supplements more traditional gigging with playing in the living rooms and kitchens of far flung fans, collaborating with other independent artists and putting on her own shows.
Using the language of combat to show that love is a battlefield, She Makes War’s music is about collision - analogue with digital, war with peace and technology with the natural world. Driven by Kidd’s bewitching, pastoral vocals and layered guitars and supported by a plethora of additional instruments from ukulele to autoharp, melodica, piano, violin, harp, saxophone and three part recorder ensemble, She Makes War’s songs are punctuated by a patchwork of field recordings from her global travels as hired gun for the likes of Tricky, The Penelopes and The Young Punx.
In 2011, around touring South America as Tricky’s bassist and singing in Carina Round’s band, she won Soundcloud’s Backstage Pass Award and ran a wildly successful Pledge Music campaign to raise funds for recording her second album “Little Battles”, featuring some extra special musical guests including Chris T-T, Tasmin Archer, Annie Gardiner (The Hysterical Injury) and Dana Jade.
So far in 2012 Kidd has released “Little Battles”, launched a residency / gig series called Breakfast With Apollo and been dubbed the “Queen of DIY” by numerous blogs alongside touring the UK, working on new music videos and making plans for digital DIY collective My Big Sister to launch in September.
Full interview with Laura here.
Making Minefields performance video - She Makes War
This week marks the launch of my new single “Minefields”, the latest to be released off my second album “Little Battles”. The video introduces some of my latest musical collaborators and is She Makes War’s first foray in to performance videos - I have shot them for others and appeared in them in the past but never before for this project.
Inspiration is Everywhere
Last week I found myself in The Chambers, a cellar bar in Folkestone, drinking ale and watching the most surprising music.The place was packed - but not with gig goers. One section of the bar/restaurant housed long tables filled with cheerful diners out on work or birthday dos while on the far side people stood chatting near the bar. In the middle Lewis Floyd Henry sat on a wooden chair, playing to a small but intent group of music lovers.