A few months back I had the privilege of reviewing ten tracks for the BBC supported, Tom Robinson managed, new artist support hub, Fresh on the Net. One of the ten was the song ‘Help Yourself‘, by Welsh born, London based music artist, Bryde. Those of you who read the review at the time, might recall that Bryde made one helluva’n impact on not just this reviewer, but on the whole FOTN tribe. I think the term Firecracker is one that could possibly be used to describe both song and singer, with her feisty, fiery delivery, accusatory guitar and acerbic lyrics.
When I reviewed the original release of ‘Help Yourself’, Bryde was across the Channel in Paris winning over the French, Celtic rock-chick style. Since then, she has been on a non-stop UK tour, recently announcing even more live dates in the Autumn including a stint back home in Wales for the GreenMan Festival (which will also see the presence of my boyz, Palace Winter).
Today however, sees the release of The Leaf Library remix of ‘Help Yourself’ and it’s an altogether completely different personality to the original! The Leaf Library, London based peddlars of experi-electro sounds, have taken what was borderline electric guitar indie-grunge and transformed it into an intense electronic visceral chant. Sonogram heartbeats make up the percussive backbone to this distilled remix in which Leaf Library have distorted Bryde’s vocal, twisting and muffling and looping it with astounding effect.
“Do you love someone else?”
Using the simple technique of repeating key lyrical hooks, they have astutely managed to both extrapolate and magnify the emotional rawness of the original. That fraught intensity of the unalloyed edition becomes hypnotically ingrained on the mind through a continuum of repetitive loops. The result is spine tingling.
With each release, Bryde steadily takes her music up another level, continuously aiming higher and effortlessly succeeding with each attempt. Later this year will see the release of her debut EP and hopefully 2017 will bring the unveiling of her first album! I for one, can’t wait for either. The more I hear, the more I am convinced that Bryde is one of the best ‘just under the radar’ female artists on the UK scene … the question is, for how much longer will she be just off-grid? Not long I’d wager, and deservedly so.
Listen to The Leaf Library remix of ‘Help Yourself’ here. Follow both The Leaf Library and Bryde on Facebook.
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