Haunting, emotive and ethereal, Geraldine Snell's new double single 'Delightful (I Love You Song) / Limerence'. With a sprawling electronic backdrops underneath her haunting yet angelic lead vocal, Geraldine's music creates an otherworldly, emotive tone reminiscent of the likes of Portishead, Bat For Lashes and early FKA Twigs.
The atmospheric, downtempo nature of Geraldine Snell's music really shines on the new single and really captures something beautiful within the honest fragile nature of her performance. Naturally we wanted to know more about what inspires the stylistic choices Geraldine makes with her music - what music has inspired her? Over to Geraldine to run us through 5 of her favourites!
Cocteau Twins - Know Who You Are At Every Age
If you’d asked me my favourite Cocteau Twins song a few weeks ago, I’d have said “Wolf in the Breast” or one of the more ethereal ones. But Richard (my co-producer) put Four Calendar Cafe on when we were round the fire recently, and this opening track startled me as I remembered it vividly but never from hearing it as an adult or even teen. It was in the house and played when I was a baby/toddler, 1993, and I loved looking at the perplexing cover. It’s beautiful to engage with the lyrics now, not having connected with it cognitively before but knowing that it was stored in the chambers of my heart from those early days.
Spice Girls - Too Much
A 5 year old when Spice Girls burst onto the scene in 1997, I’d beg to stay up and watch them on Top of the Pops; it was this song, more than any, that plucked on my heart strings with its groovy lull, plucky punctuations, and sweet vocals. I often think about how the music of my early years must’ve seeped in deep and provided the formulae for how to make a song, and remember Mum crooning “I want a man, not a boy who thinks he can” and trying to hear out what the backing vocals at the end said. So this one has probably indirectly and directly inspired my song and album “overlove”: it’s the perfect pop song!
Queen - You Take My Breath Away
Summer 2005: I was 13 on a family holiday in the Alps and I had a limerent crush on a 17 year old mountain biker, David, who was staying in our hotel. I’d been obsessed with Queen since we sang ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in our end of primary school cabaret a couple of years before, and had downloaded their back catalogue off Limewire. This song soundtracked my heartbreak when David left and I wept in the hotel room, the creepy melodrama of the lyrics, Freddie’s delivery, and the soothing harmonies holding me as my attachments and emotions evolved and processed.
Liszt - Liebestraum
I could pretty much play this on piano when I was at my most practised - admittedly missing a few notes and relying heavily on the sustain pedal - after I’d taken grade 6 piano and some friends had bought me a Liszt book (that intimidated the hell out of me!) for my 16th birthday. My piano teacher Mike said that Liszt had hands the size of dustbin lids and that I’d struggle to manage the octaves and more with my tiny span. The title translates as “Love dream” and I hold this in a similar place in my heart as other romantic piano works by the likes of Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff: the wistful longing of the chords together with the twinkling glissandos, and the bit halfway through where the pitch shifts up - as they do in pop songs to amp up the final chorus - is pure heart-rending epicness.
Arctic Monkeys - Only Ones Who Know
I remember Favourite Worst Nightmare (the album this track was on) coming out in Spring 2007 and this track in particular gripped me and soundtracked my first relationship, with a guitarist who’d serenade me with Damien Rice and The Maccabees. I’d become aware of Arctic Monkeys through my Mum, who had their 2005 demo which we’d listen to in the car, and whilst I loved the rocky anthems, it was slower, croony tracks like Riot Van, No Buses, and this that really struck a chord with me. The lyrics “I hope you’re holding hands by new years’ eve” were particularly resonant when he dumped me for God in early December, which was a week before I saw Arctics live in Manchester, after which I got a horrible virus in addition to my heartbreak that had me missing my GCSE mocks. It’s my favourite song of theirs and I paid tribute in my own piano and looper cover here - https://youtu.be/bEKEiO3G0qA?si=BpQ1ETnVHeLY5Vr5
Watch the video for Geraldine's new single below:
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