About this Playlist
music discovery on our musicto Monday playlist
Each week, our global creator community listens to tracks sent through our musicto artist submission form. And each week we add our favorites to our musicto Monday playlist. With every update of this music discovery playlist, we invite one musicto curator from our social network to choose a band or musician from our artist submissions to put in the spotlight. This time, music curator Andrew puts the spotlight on Bristol-based alt-rock two-piece Pollyanna Blue
Pollyanna Blue in the musicto Spotlight
I can’t tell you why my ear latches on to a track but, Strong Enough was certainly strong enough to keep me listening and checking out the rest of the Trials & Tribulations EP.
For me the standouts are Strong Enough:
and Sapphire Lake:
just epic tracks that – while their promo notes have them in the same ballpark as Nothing But Thieves, Fall Out Boy and Mallory Knox – for me you could find them up there with classic Foo Fighters, Garbage and Suede – but hey – all that to say, if you like good indie rock with big harmonies and hooky choruses, this band delivers. If either Zoe or Rich ever fancy making a trade tracks list – hit me up! 🙂
One thing that did help this Spotlight come about was the professionalism of Jade at Memphia Music Management – we get a stupid amount of pitches every week and hers are always personalized – easy to read – succinct with relevant links to socials and press kits. It makes it so much easier to choose to listen – and while not every track resonates – we’re more likely to listen to something coming from Memphia than not. Thank You!
Zoe and Rich were kind enough to answer a few questions on wavelengths, pandemic behaviors, reincarnation and of course, the omnipotent being! Check them out below:
What was the influential moment when you both decided you wanted to be musicians?
Zoe – my family has told me even as a three year old I loved to sing and make noise! I was very fortunate to have a family who loved music and loved how much interest I took in it. I played recorder, clarinet and piano as well as singing until I was 12. That was when I started listening to bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Greenday and then all I wanted to do was play electric guitar, sing and make even more noise!
Rich – Within my family I’ve got a few members that were/are in bands. My Grandad used to run his own Jazz/Swing band, My Uncle is a drummer in a classic rock cover band, another Uncle used to play bass when he was younger. So there has always been an undertone of being a musician in my family. My Dad is a big music head, and he got me into so many different genres that it used to excite me when we’d be driving in the car, or just playing records at home. I think it was an accumulation of these two things that made me want to play in a band and be a musician.
Is collaboration a part of your whole creative process or do you write songs individually first and then collaborate on refining the song?
Zoe – I’d say for me I bring the clay and then as a band we sculpt it into a beautiful musical vase or sculpture. There’s something special to me about spending time alone in my own thoughts and drifting into the swirling waves of emotions and thoughts, which allows me to bring out melodies and chords that mirror the thoughts and visual scenarios I create in my head.
Rich – For the EP songs they all came from Zoe, then we deep dived into each song to see where it would take us. With the new material we are writing, as Zoe said, she has brought the clay and as a band we sculpt it into something that we all love.
What are your upcoming plans and how can people support you?
Our plans for the rest of the year is to gig as much as we can in the summer and then in autumn/winter we’re planning on getting new music ready for the new year!
Best way to support us is to follow us on our socials and Spotify to help us get seen as much as possible, takes a few seconds to do but it really helps independent bands who are doing everything with their own time and money.
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PollyannaBlueUK/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PollyannaBlue
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pollyanna.blue/
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7FHLtHLo5c2SmYYViaeFln
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/pollyanna-blue/1512627570
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQbb4kmx0D-lrQyUKD1z2w
How important are playlists and streaming services to you?
I’d say pretty important, especially when it came to the start of this band when we were working alongside the pandemic. When we couldn’t gig and all lived in different cities it meant we could share our music with people without having to leave our bedroom.
What was one activity that kept you sane during Covid – would you recommend it to others – why / why not?
Zoe – for me I got back into gaming online with my friends. We’d play Borderlands till very late at night, but we’d always have a laugh and almost felt like we were in the same room together. I would recommend it during that time as it was a great escape from the pandemic but also was still a way to keep close to friends.
Rich – Luckily my work was based outside, so was able to continue throughout covid. However we worked a lot on the EP during covid by developing song ideas. I remember working on Sapphire Lake into the early hours and finding it very cathartic trying out different textures, even if we decided against them. I also found more time to just play bass for the sake of it, without feeling pressured to create anything. Like Zoe I also played a lot of video games with friends online too!
What are you curious about at the moment? Why?
Zoe – About my career and my next steps in life outside of the band! It’s amazing being a musician, but currently having to rely on a day job to fund my lifestyle and the band. Would love to have a life where I enjoy my day job as much as I enjoy making music!
Rich – I’m very curious about where Pollyanna Blue’s next steps are going to be. Everyone has a different journey within music, it’s never the same from person to person. For me it has felt like a big uphill walk being in bands for over 10 years. Now it feels like I’m on an even surface and finding it so much more rewarding and enjoyable. So just going to keep going, and aiming for the next achievement.
If you could summon one musician back from the dead to collaborate with, who would it be? Why? What do you think you would create?
Zoe – I’d have to say Chris Cornell, I remember the day I heard about his passing on the radio, I was in my dads van waiting for him while he was in a supermarket. They played ‘Black Hole Sun’ and I teared up, I could always resonate with the emotional power vocal of Chris’s voice in Sound Garden and Audioslave and this time I heard him singing it really hit me. I would have loved to ask him about how he was feeling and what he was going through and I feel like I take a lot of influence in the motivation of lyrical content and emotion in alt rock/grunge music, I can only imagine what we would have written, but with Chris Cornell involved it would be a grunge anthem for sure!
Rich – For me it would be Tom Searle from Architects. He was a huge influence on me musically, politically and how to look at things in life. He had this incredible ability to cross influences and genres and create something so authentic and brilliant. I’d love to create a ambient/post rock album with him, a mash up of Nordic Giants, Daughter, Radiohead.
What is a piece of music that has changed you?
Zoe – ‘Talk Show Host’ by Radiohead. I remember watching the remake of Romeo and Juliette and the scene by the docks where they play this song. I was watching it in an English class in secondary school in the summer of 2008 and I remember how sad it made me feel. There’s just something about all the layers of samples and the note choices that really pulled at my heartstrings. I felt like it guided me to a source of where a lot of sadness lived, which I was trying to suppress and put a brave face on for and the instrumentation broke that wall down and it caught me off guard. It changed me as it opened my eyes to how I was truly feeling and just how powerful music can be.
Rich – Spanish Sahara by Foals. Everything about this song completely transformed the way I think about music and how it can affect you on a personal level. I feel it’s a song that anyone can listen to and enjoy.
What wavelength are you on? How can other people get on that wavelength?
Zoe – my wavelength is generally pretty chill and as much as I can be, self aware. To get on my same wavelength I’d say be accepting and kind to people and yourself and just try and enjoy life as best you can.
Rich – I’m on the same wavelength as Zoe here. She has helped me channel certain emotions and has opened my mind to a different way of thinking. So I’d recommend getting on that wavelength!
What do you think of Nick Cave’s response to an AI generated track “in the style of Nick Cave”
Rich – AI generation is pretty damn crazy. The idea that it can help people become inspired or help guide you can be an amazing thing. I’ve had a laugh with friends asking ChatGPT to write lyrics about Boris Johnson flying to the moon in the style of a Wallace and Gromit script. However, as we all know, humans will always try and find the easiest way to do things. Art and music isn’t about the shortest route, it’s a long journey that helps you express your feelings. Solely relying upon AI to create your music or art will be a short term hit of dopamine, you’ll eventually find yourself in a pit of no inspiration!
Zoe – I think anything AI generated can be a lot of fun and used as a creative tool, but I guess because it’s missing the part that makes the piece human, it won’t ever be the same. You can normally tell something is a little bit off when you see AI art, but it’s fascinating to see what it’s capable of.
If you were granted a short audience with the omnipotent being and could play them one track of yours – so that they would know who you are (in that moment) – what track would that be?
Rich – For me it would have to be Sapphire Lake. From a lyrical standpoint it shows perfectly how human emotion is such a vital component of songs. Sapphire Lake is a breathtakingly beautiful musical metaphor for depression. Everyone can experience depression and Zoe has tried to capture her own honest and heartfelt truths with her vocals and lyrics, hoping that even if one person can relate to the band’s music and to be taken on a journey of self discovery from it, then she has done her job.
Zoe – I don’t think I could have put this any better than Rich on this one!
Three songs from Pollyanna Blue
Haunted
The second track on the EP – clearly got a bit of action on Spotify as it has over 10k streams – or maybe that should be screams – ‘cos the video is awesome! I can only imagine how much fun they had making this – funny yet spooky and positioned really well to add something to the track. Also – I’m guessing they’re working on a super tight budget, but the way they shot this – it’s pretty epic – kudos to everyone involved.
Saviour
Dropping this in even though I find the version on the EP to be tougher and tighter (hello snare!) – it’s just interesting to see how a band develops. For most indie artists I know, the struggle to record, shoot video and do it all at a minimum acceptable level is bloody expensive and takes a crap load of time – and yet it’s amazing to see what creative minds can come up with.
Stray Recording Session
There’s just something about being in the studio – the glass separating the control room from the performance – the camaraderie – the sheer sensation that you’re in a place that could change your life! It’s one of my favorite places to be in and you can see the joy on the bands faces as they share the experience. Can’t find this one out on streaming platforms yet but it sounds like a banger.
Get In Touch With The Band:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PollyannaBlueUK/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PollyannaBlue
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pollyanna.blue/
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7FHLtHLo5c2SmYYViaeFln
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/pollyanna-blue/1512627570
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQbb4kmx0D-lrQyUKD1z2w
