a gently sober fierce panda one sheet

The Act: A LILY

The Release: ‘Shadow and Me Makes Three’ / ‘Their Child Lay Beside Them’

The Format: DIGITAL SINGLE

The Release Date: NOVEMBER18TH 2016
The Focus Date: DECEMBER 16TH 2016

The Label: fierce panda records

The Truth: A LILY is the nom de plume of yndi halda frontman James Vella’s solo project. ‘Shadow And Me Makes Three’ / ‘Their Child Lay Beside Them’ is released on November 18th as part of the fierce panda 2016 singles club and, as befits the season, wraps the listener in a great big blanket of sonic warmth. ‘Shadow And Me Makes Three’ is low slung and intimate, all breathed vocals and jangled, twangled introspection. ‘Their Child Lay Beside Them’ is somehow even more subtle, a bit like the sound of Simon & Garfunkel playing in a very, very small church. With steel drums.

He has form, does A Lily: he’s played live alongside Amiina, Peter Broderick, Silver Apples, Real Estate, yndi halda, Olafur Arnalds, Yo La Tengo and Mercury Rev amongst others. He’s a published fiction writer, and also label manager for Injazero Records (and ex-FatCat Records). Small wonder then that on ‘Shadow And Me Makes Three’ he plays everything, with the additional voices of Patricia Burrows and Eva Rustige. He’s similarly omnipresent on ‘Their Child Lay Beside Them’, although this time he is aided by Rebecca Davies on the cello, acclaimed Trinidadian steel pan player Fimber Bravo (Moshi Moshi) and Audrey's Rebecka Kristiansson and Nicola Vella, aka “my little sister”, on vocals.

“A Lily is my solo project. Something I tinker with while not working or touring with my other band yndi halda,” explains James / A Lily. “The project and name has been with me since I was a teenager, a title for the records I make with my home recording setup - piles of guitars, exotic string instruments I find on my travels, my childhood drumkit, tape recorders, microphones, Casio miniature keyboards, effects pedals, occasional guest musicians and so on. And a love of pure pop music - verses, choruses, singing along in the shower.

“This new single has been my extra-curricular work for a couple of months. It's about the strange personal disassociation you can feel when unsure of your own truths and being. A time-consuming concept trimmed into a few minutes of music. I was listening to lots of Motown when I wrote it - the drum beats, the close harmonies, soft, lulling backing vocals. The b-side – ‘Their Child Lay Beside Them’ - is about losing loved ones. My grandfather passed away while I was working on this song. It was one of the saddest things I've ever experienced. His voice is on the song.”

A Lily hereby joins the flock of cheery talent which has floated past throughout this year as part of fierce panda’s 2016 singles club, whereby the label under the table has released tracks by the likes of Alphaduka, Cavalry, Coquin Migale, Chalk, Hush, White Giant, Affairs and Joey Fourr with the gentle support of The Arts Council. Bless.

A Lily live shows will be announced soon.

A Lily ‘Ghost’ photo by Mark Vella

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www.fiercepanda.co.uk