GMS Sessions, launched in 2024, features engineers and artists from Goldsmiths student body who are paired together. The aim is to create two recordings and a short interview, highlighting the sounds and gear of Goldsmiths Music Studios, and the innovative musical work that happens in our spaces. Via the GMS Mixcloud.
Session #005
In Volume 5 of the GMS Sessions, JP Fleming’s electric guitar and deep vocals come together in two gritty indie-rock tracks. Normally surrounded by a full band, this session offers the opportunity to hear what JP Fleming can do when flying solo. He explains to us in the interview about how inspired he is by The Velvet Underground, as well as by exploring guitar and voice on their own. We also hear exclusive behind the scenes insight from Goldsmiths student engineers Joey Crouch and SG Lee, who captured the two tracks, about the gear used in the studio.
Track one – “Necessary Evil” is an original song by JP Fleming, exploring jangly guitar textures and the lower ranges of the voice.
Track 2 – “Pale Blue Eyes” is JP Fleming’s stripped back take on this classic song, originally by The Velvet Underground.
Session #004
Volume 4 of the GMS sessions is arguably the most explosive set we have had to date. Big Camo give us driving bass lines, disco hi-hats and lyrics that dance with irony, definitely sure to make a lasting an impression! This is coupled with haunting violin textures that float over the band, blending effortlessly over the arrangement and giving a unique sound to this somewhat post-punk ensemble.
Track 1- “Hold On” features upbeat driving violin and guitar lines. The resonant vocals are a highlight within the arrangement with reflective lyrics cutting through.
Track 2- “Pablo Picasso” is definitely a stand-out; the vocals here take a more laid back conversational tone. By placing Pablo Picasso in the 20th century, driving down the street in his Eldorado, the band’s unique perspective is shown.
Session #003
In Volume 3 of the GMS Sessions Maureece Logan and their band fuse Alt-rock Neo-soul. Maureece’s powerful vocals are married with to-the-point, thought-provoking lyrics, making this session a must listen. With a slightly different band set up than usual, the songs are re-worked, allowing for a fresh perspective. Maureece explains how growing up singing in choirs allows her to react easily to performance cues, embracing the song sounding slightly different each time it is played.
Track one – “Blame Game” explores the bittersweet emotions of unrequited love, accountability and lost opportunities. The confessional element of this emotional ballad adds grit to Maureece’s already striking vocals, underpinned with the harmonically rich piano accompaniment.
Track 2 – “Ghost of Yesterday” investigates the feelings of doubt and ‘what if?’ in day to day life, warning of its ability to deter you from actually living.
Session #002
Volume 2 of the GMS Sessions features band Matilda Bates and the Mannequins. A theatrically brilliant flip on alt-neo soul with hints of contemporary RnB and Jazz DnB fusion, Matilda and The Mannequins explore honest chaotic lyricism with Jazz sensibilities, broadcasting a new frequency. For this session, Matilda performed with a stripped-back outfit of keyboards, vocals, guitar and bass.
Track 1 – “No Pennies on the Green” and Track 2 – “Oh No” are A/B sides. These are two tracks that explore the disillusionment and burden of a failing relationship. Brooding, eerie and haunting, the two tracks meander thoughtfully through the journeys of both sides of the relationship. Both tracks are unpinned by bass, punctuated with melodic passages, morphing vocal FX, and synthesizers, creating a wholly pleasing yet unsettling world.
Engineers – Pablo Orellana Barahona and Dominic Freeman.
Session #001
Kicking off our new GMS Sessions series is FLOCO, a South London based singer and producer who inhabits a world between the old and the new. Weaving remnants of her musical upbringing on English folk music through live electronics and experimental production, FLOCO explores the more abstract lands of Cyberfolk and Dream Pop.
Track 1 – “About You” is an introverted love song which reflects on FLOCO’s inner conflicts: the grandeur of falling in love and the creative urge for loneliness. Contrasting the vastness of choral vocals with the intimacy of bedroom production, “About You” invites the listener to explore a sound-world at once mundane and fantastical.
Track 2 – “Slow Day” is about the search for personal identity following a break-up. Guitar ostinatos and synths made using household items weave around quiet vocals which paint an intimate portrait of the loss and grief of heartbreak.
