Helefonix and The Great Outdoor Orchestra

Have you ever gone outside, even in the near vicinity of your own home, and just listened? What do you hear? Maybe a car passing by, a dog barking or a plane flying overhead. Depending on where you are, you might also hear a natural orchestra with players of all shapes and sizes, especially if you happen to be awake as the sun is rising. This is what Helefonix listened to throughout the pandemic, and her recordings became her debut album ‘Nature’s Grace’.

Hardly resting in her musical endeavours, Helefonix has condensed more artistic output in a year than some artists achieve in their entire careers. After releasing her debut EP ‘MidLifeMix’ in September 2020, we wrote about and interviewed Helefonix for her second EP, the more classical inspired ‘Orchestral Manoeuvres’ in March 2021. By that time, she’d already put together her next EP ‘Confusion’, which along with the previous EPs was collected into an 18-track album featuring two new songs in ‘Song Thrush Serenade’ and ‘The Gardener’s Friend’.

An unexpected collaboration also happened in March, where Helefonix teamed up with viral sensation Jackie Weaver to create the single ‘Jackie Weaver’s Kicked Him Out’ featuring vocalist Joe Rose. News of the collaboration reached The Guardian, Clash Magazine, and both Helefonix and Weaver were interviewed on BBC News in celebration of its release.

Helefonix has also expanded her work to live performance! On the 6th of May Helefonix took to the stage for the first time armed with a laptop at Vanishing Point, a monthly night presented by Demerara Records at AMP Studios in London. Her most recent performance as part of the Tomorrow Calling festival at the same venue served as a launch gig for her debut album ‘Nature’s Grace’.

You might well think Helefonix’s album opener ‘Dawn Chorus’ would’ve been an easy recording project: place microphones outside and record what you hear. In fact, the finished track is the product of many early mornings (that got progressively earlier towards the Summer Solstice), with this edit being a condensed version of the everyday Chorus. Lose yourself in the sounds of birds near and far, of Tawny Owls, Robins, Blackbirds and even a Fox’s bark, if you listen carefully.

Also featuring in Dawn Chorus was a Song Thrush, the star of ‘Song Thrush Serenade’, which was the very genesis of the Nature’s Grace album. Here Helefonix uses sampling in places to bring the Thrush’s rhythm more in line with the track amongst a chilled beat and rounded synths. Song Thrush Serenade was later played on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6 Music show and by Nitin Sawhney on Worldwide FM.

With a field recording of waves from Daniel Parsons of Amongst the Pigeons, ‘Maids Of The Mer’ is like a siren calling out across the sea. The power of technology is simply astounding, as this is a vocal sample, using notes and an arrangement by Helefonix to help shape it into what you hear. The result is a calming and beautiful track you might expect to hear from Iceland or a Scandinavian country and is one of my favourite pieces from Helefonix so far.

The sounds of distant cars whizz by as Blackbirds take the stage for ‘Blackbird Has Spoken’. There are so many interesting musical layers in this song even before the beat starts proper. The striking chords, the bouncing synth, the tapping, the elements that sound like guitar and bass and suddenly I’m imagining Helefonix with a band at some point. Could that be a hint of where Helefonix’s career is heading? There is so much to hear in Blackbird Has Spoken and quite easily promotes multiple listens.

‘It’s the Little Things in life that really count.’ – Herbert Davies

From the dance sound of Blackbird Has Spoken, Nature’s Grace takes us to the comforting tone of harp and other stringed instruments in ‘The Little Things’ featuring Herbert and Gladys Davies. Producer and Great-Grandchild of Herbert and Gladys, Charlie Deakin Davies helped to clean up their voice recordings on this track, captured by Helefonix in 1992 on a video camera. Paired with a beat and Helefonix’s string arrangement, the result is an uplifting take on life from the point of view of her Grandparents. You can’t help but smile.

There is something brilliant about the central focus of violin on ‘The Storm’. Helefonix’s arrangement of this track, combining acoustic instruments with programmed drums and synths, reminds me of American violinist Lindsey Stirling and her career. The field recording too captures and enhances the musical landscape of the piece, as a lone violinist dances amidst the distant rumble of The Storm. As well, Helefonix was careful in the way she captured her field recording, recognising that ambient rain can descend into the realm of white noise, and the closer raindrops are what make it a more natural listening experience.

The shortest piece on Nature’s Grace, ‘The Gardener’s Friend’ was originally the previously unreleased track included as a bonus on Helefonix’s Special Edition Album. It’s also the funkiest track Helefonix has put out so far, with hammer-on parts running down an imaginary guitar fretboard, plus a guitar riff playing throughout. You see why Helefonix needs to play with a full band? The central character of The Gardener’s Friend is the Robin, whose call was captured in Notting Hill while children played nearby. One thing you must be aware of is the care and attention Helefonix gives to the key the birds are singing in and their tempo, as she crafts her music to the notes supplied by the feathered creatures. For the curious amongst you, The Gardener’s Friend is in B Major and runs at 90 beats per minute.

Ian McMillan. Image Credit: www.turningimages.co.uk

‘This light, Met that light, At last night’s, Leading edge.

All light, Is found light, Between the back road, And the hedge.

That light, And this light, Mix their colours, In the sky.

All light, Is new light, Teaching darkness, How to fly.’

 – Ian McMillan (Teaching Darkness How To Fly)

Poet and BBC Radio 3 presenter Ian McMillan features on ‘(Teaching Darkness) How To Fly’, which was subsequently played on Elizabeth Alker’s Saturday morning programme on the same station. McMillan’s reading is creatively edited and mixed into a string arrangement by Helefonix, plus more field recordings including her local village church bells. The result is exactly the union between music and poetry that you would imagine, making the two inseparable, an experience that enhances both elements of the art.

Helefonix’s talent for moulding her field recordings into music even extends to the drone sounds present in ‘Hazy Lazy Days’, where a lawn mower can be heard during the piece’s introduction. Helefonix further explores acoustic instrument manipulation with the sound of woodwind samples. Halfway through, she changes tact with the music, as if clouds are momentarily passing over and blocking out the sun’s rays. Of course the birds are ever present too, setting the scene for a warm summer’s day and the smell of freshly mown grass.

‘Dedicated to Mazen @KoReaktor on twitter. Mazen is a huge fan of independent electronic artists. He is living in unimaginable conditions in Beirut. Music is his escape. He told me he loves crows.’ – Helefonix on ‘War and Peace’.

The finale to Nature’s Grace contains a myriad of birdsong including Carrion Crow, Magpie, Thrush, Robin and Blackbird in War and Peace. Helefonix inserts another guitar riff into her music that follows more of a classic rock direction early on, while later the guitar takes a lead role with a clean edge. All the other instruments, including the various synth and drum sounds, are all about the rhythm. Adding to the drama is a distant ambulance sound, something Helefonix couldn’t have planned but used to her advantage on this piece. I wonder how many man-made sounds were captured that didn’t make the cut?

Concluding the day the way it began, nature plays us out with ‘Evensong’, where the most startling revelation comes in the form of a Nightingale. There truly is a difference between the opening and closing pieces on this album, with Helefonix’s editing highlighting just how the natural world wakes up, and rests with the setting of the sun.

I think the future is tremendously exciting for Helefonix. When you think of all that has been packed into a year of creativity, collaboration and performance, what will be added to the story in the next year of artistic discovery? Continue reading for our Q&A with Helefonix. We discuss the making of Nature’s Grace, collaborating with Ian McMillan, performing live and the next step in her musical journey!

Image Credit: Emma Massie.

1. Your debut album 'Nature's Grace' is built on a huge variety of birdsong, when did you realise you wanted to make an album focussing on this kind of music?

So much time was spent listening to early morning birdsong over the last year. I generally get up around five and love those couple of hours reflecting or creating, depending on what I am fixated on! The song thrush that visited every day was so prominent that I remember musing to my husband about making a track using the bird as the lead vocalist. He thought I was mad (as ever!) but I started trying to get recordings of birds when they were ‘solo’ in the garden and Song Thrush Serenade was the outcome. I thought it would be the ‘only’ but then I got inspired by the reaction to it and started capturing other birdsong... I have always been inspired by nature as I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm. Funnily enough I recently found an old exercise book which I’d used to log the ‘song thrush’s nest’ I found in my garden, aged about 9, when I was entertaining myself one school holiday. I’ve always liked to have ‘projects’!!

2. Your album opens with 'Dawn Chorus', what do you remember about that particular day's recording? What do you think of when you hear it now?

Capturing any birdsong or outdoor ‘found sound’ seems easy enough, but in practice, there’s lots of factors that can ruin a recording when you’re back at base critically listening to it. The first one is wind. In fact, it can be almost imperceptible to you but completely ruin the take. Then there’s random sounds that would ruin the mood, the neighbours’ cat jumping on the shed, the occasional loud car on the road breaking the mood, or a plane over head. I also wanted to capture THE WHOLE THING! From the very first bird. Morning after morning I would jump out of bed and try to get the dawn chorus BEFORE it kicked off. I didn’t use an alarm as that would have disturbed my other half. So many times I was woken by it which meant it had already started. Some days were louder and clearer than others. It depends who turns up, when! If there’s too much going on it’s a ‘mess’ and I wanted to use the dawn chorus to showcase the solo birds who would feature. Finally I was up in time AND it was a still morning, still dark at that point of course and as I crept away from the recorder I was thrilled to hear the owls, which I thought would be the perfect start to the album. I asked my friends on twitter what they thought of the concept and when there was a resounding ‘yes’ I thought I’d have a go at capturing the closing down of the day – and set about recording Evensong, the final and I thought, fitting, track on the album.

3. Tell me about the voices on 'Maids Of The Mer', are these manipulated samples?

Yes they are. I make no secret of the fact that what I am doing is collecting sounds that I love and making a fusion which ‘sounds right’ to me. I collect these sounds from my computer and blend them. I have just started experimenting with recording my own voice but I also love using ‘plug ins’ to bring in new and varied sounds which excite me.

4. 'The Little Things' moves away from birdsong and features vocal samples of your Grandparents, what led to dedicating a piece of music to them on this record?

Thanks for asking about this track. It means so much to me and the response has been lovely. Around the time that I created Song Thrush Serenade, (which Cerys Matthews kindly played on her 6 Music show) I had approached Jackie Weaver (of zoom council meeting fame) and asked if I could collaborate with her. At that point I had no idea what I would do but when she said yes, and that she would also personally record any vocals I needed, I set about deciding which phrases to use and where. Completely without a plan. I just let the thing flow. Which is what I do with my music on the whole. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome and Jackie loved it, the media were really great and we got on national TV, radio and in the national press with Jackie Weaver’s Kicked Him Out. So it was this that inspired me to want to use spoken word. And I first of all approached poet/presenter Ian McMillan, more of which below. Encouraged by that I was wondering what other vocals I could use and I came across some footage I had shot thirty years ago when my grandparents were in their 80’s. I was going to retell the ‘farming tales’ but the audio wasn’t very clear for most of it. In the end I realised I had some gems in there, which I had not remembered. So I thought, well, there’s also ‘Human Nature’ so I decided I would try to make something else which could go on an EP. Of course, over time, the tracks kept coming and the album was born!

5. Accompanying 'The Storm' is a great violin part, is that performed live by you or a sample on this occasion?

Thanks, I love that part too! I probably could perform it on the violin if I practiced a lot but it was created using the plug ins I’ve already mentioned. The rain and thunder on this track was again really difficult to capture but I also got some video footage which I might use to make a video. This track will be the next (and possibly last) single from this album.

6. Ian McMillan accompanies you on '(Teaching Darkness) How To Fly', how did he become involved in this track?

We follow each other on twitter. Ian is a very gracious and responsive tweeter. He retweets nearly all the comments made to him with comments. I’ve never met him but when I direct messaged him early one morning (he’s an early riser like me) asking if he was up for a collab in principle he said he loved doing them. He said he’d write something specially for me and when it arrived, the poem, all about sunrise, I was in seventh heaven! This would fit perfectly with my nature theme and I had loads of footage of sunrises already. Then I had to work out what speed he would need to speak it out to get a suitable bpm, and what key would work best, and make a demo using my voice of where the words might fit. Thankfully he approved it. And then recorded his lines to match my guide vocals. I then decided I wanted to add a new sunrise to my collection, that of the sun on lambs. And their bleats were also added to the track, which for me completes it! The church bells were recorded outside my local village church, which also features in the video. It was a complete thrill when it got played on Radio 3.

7. Of all the birds you've sampled in 'Nature's Grace', do you have a favourite for their call and their beauty?

That’s so hard, I think it’s the Robin, for call AND beauty. The robin’s call can be poignant in winter, melancholy in the evening and optimistic in the morning. It also is happy to sing throughout the day, is very friendly and bold and has a very varied call. The song thrush is great fun in terms of its song, but very dominant. I think the blackbird reminds me of early summer mornings and Skylarks are lovely on a summer’s day, but yes, overall, the Robin pips them to the post.

8. You've mentioned before that people have said the album format is dead. Do you think it's possible people would go back to listening to albums as they did prior to the internet?

Personally, I love the album format. But ideally on vinyl. I personally savour those opportunities to ‘put my records on’. Obviously it reminds me of the days when in my teens a lot of time was spent listening to music. And usually the same album over and over again as money was tight and you saved up for this gem for weeks. Now I’ve got a new record player and have been adding to my collection by trawling charity shops as well as new releases. Hannah Peel and Roxanne de Bastion being my most recent purchases. It’s usually my Sunday morning treat to light some candles and sit back and savour an LP. We have a propensity to ‘multi task’ so to sit somewhere comfortable while you listen, distraction free, bathed in sound from speakers (as opposed to headphones!) is an almost spiritual experience for me.

Going back to your question though, many albums nowadays are a collection of the latest tracks recorded by that artist. Not always written by them. However, if an album is going to be listened to as a whole, it has to flow and make sense as a unit. Having the same creator helps. The classic ‘concept album’. You take your listener on a journey for about half an hour. You have to be mindful of the mood one track has created and think very carefully about what sounds will jar and what will soothe. What will surprise and what will delight. Sometimes you want to bring people out of a ‘trance’, other times you want to help them enjoy that space and stillness you might have helped create for them. It’s quite a responsibility. I don’t think things can ‘go back’ to how they were but perhaps there’s room for singles AND albums (and of course short albums, EP’s) but it’s tricky knowing which format to release and then you’d want to flag an EP or album with at least one single to set the tone. Release plans are a real mind bender! However, I find it a pleasing challenge, both for other artists (when I do their PR) and also on my own stuff.

9. Since our last interview, you've made your debut on the live scene and continue to perform, what do you love most about playing your music live?

Until you’ve done it, you don’t ‘get it’. You don’t understand that buzz (if it’s going well and the audience are vocal and enthusiastic!) which being on stage provides like no other experience. I had that experience in May thanks to Vanishing Point. Having your grown up children and their friends in the audience always helps!! And it was the first chance I’d had to socialise with them for months and months so it was extra special. As a producer, it’s more about sharing my music with a new audience and getting the audience engaged in the tracks. I absolutely love it. I am not a performer in the traditional acoustic sense of the word, so it’s not quite as nerve wracking! I’ve got two more performances lined up, thanks to Neil March at Tomorrow Calling in the Old Kent Road on Sunday 5th Sept (general release day) and at the east of England NMG Awards in Bury St Edmunds for Tim Willett on 10th Sept. Both have been huge supporters of my work and I am, to coin a phrase from my grandfather at the end of The Little Things, very grateful.

10. I know you never sit still for long! So what's next for Helefonix?

Ha! Ha! You’re not wrong! Before I started making the tracks for Nature’s Grace, I’d already got an album almost ready to share. So this has leapfrogged it! It was the right thing to do. Over the last few weeks I’ve been back in the studio, working on those tracks and adding some vocal samples, which I am VERY happy with AND have made a ten track concept album, at present loosely based on transitional rites of passage and authentic self expression, using the style of vocals from Maids of the Mer. That track went down so well that I wanted to make an almost a cappella album. Adiemus by Karl Jenkins is one of my favourite albums, with it’s made up language and soaring harmonies. It’s been a huge inspiration to me. It’s a natural for a Christmas release. But I don’t want to keep sitting on these other much earlier tracks for too long. And three albums is just too much in four months. SO, I might break that original album down into two EP’s which are more digestible and have the harmony laden, ‘rites of passage’ album for a December release? Decisions decisions!! Watch this space!

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Further explore the music of Helefonix with CDs and downloads of ‘Nature’s Grace’ and much more on her Bandcamp page.

For more information about Helefonix, visit her official website here.

Follow Helefonix on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @helefonix.

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