lydia cole

[lydiacole]

The Key [Among Horses IV, track 5]

I could tell from the beginnings of The Key’s creation that Hailey Beavis had a very strong vision for it. This song was her baby. I took it as an opportunity to sit back and watch her pour out all her enthusiasm and energy. There was something electric about this song, and Hailey’s focus was something to behold. It seemed to carry something essential for her. “Lean into me and just let go Let doubts fade out, let love take hold Make me feel safe, let me be free Make this the place we want to be Inside a dream my body shakes You’re the one thing when I awake I feel your breath warm in my ear You’re breathing slow, you pull me near Your hands are warm wrapped around mine When worries swarm I hold you tight You waited way outside your pride There’s nothing now we have to hide We saw a fox on our first night We heard an owl call and take flight It’s not a story anymore We got the key to our front door” Listen now: https://spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

Less Lost [Among Horses IV, track 3]

I had a lot of fun playing with these lyrics, chasing a sentiment initially laid out by Hailey Beavis in some of our chats and her pages of writing. We spent plenty of time singing the chorus that week, polishing the timing and melody as we went. It was a lot of fun. My personal highlight was during recording when a bag of cornflakes became a percussive instrument. Yes, it ended up all over the floor. “The ties of the city loosen on leaving Something that’s wild calls out in our breathing The rush of the river rounding the bend races my heart No more time to pretend

Together we’re getting less lost as we go If we walk ‘til tomorrow we’ll find our way home The sun drinks the mist away from the trees Difference dissipates from you and me Our bodies lie closer in a soft crush Two fresh coffees in two tin cups

Together we’re getting less lost as we go If we walk ‘til tomorrow we’ll find our way home Again and again we will learn to be kind This pretty much happens to us every time I’m on a high and you’re going low Somehow, someway, we converge as we go Now you’re heading up and I’m coming ‘round The peak doesn’t look so impossible now Together we’re getting less lost as we go If we walk ‘til tomorrow we’ll find our way home Again and again we will learn to be kind This pretty much happens to us every time”

Listen now: https://spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

Forget It [Among Horses IV, track 4]

On the last morning of writing I overheard Hailey Beavis sitting on the porch outside my room, playing the guitar part. Something in it clicked with me, and an hour later the song was written. The most special memory in this song for me is the tiny, thousand-year-old chapel where we recorded it, just over on the neighbour’s property. It was mind-blowing to record a day-old song about wishing to forget the hard truths of life, while standing inside a structure that has survived so much. It was a very memorable day.

“I don’t really want to do this anymore And I don’t really blame you for it at all I wish I could forget it

I don’t really know why you said those words And looking in from this side it’s still absurd I wish I could forget it

I know that we promised to co-exist But I know what I need now and it isn’t this I wish I could forget it”

Listen now: https://spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

Talk to Me [Among Horses IV, track 1]

To me this song feels like a pure balance of Hailey Beavis and I. It really feels like a weaving together of light and dark, delicate and deep. I think of this song as a wise friend, someone who would sit with you for a doctor’s appointment. The kind of friend who isn’t afraid to be with you through the changing terrain of life. “No-one trembles here but me Embroidered are the many memories I hear your voice but your face I cannot see We chose a path so complex Both foolish and amazing to the rest I wanna talk, I want you to talk to me My heart beats inside the dial-tone In the void I build for us a home I dream of you, with the sun you melt like snow Your eyes open as I close the day So many things I wait to say I wanna talk, I want you to talk to me After the last curtain call Will we feel like we have said it all? I’ll just wanna talk and want you to talk to me”

Listen now: https//spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

Tape on the Reel [Among Horses IV, track 2]

Tape on the Reel crept up to us on the first day. The guitar part bubbled up and I played it to Hailey Beavis. She pressed me for what it meant, what I was feeling in the music. We had an extended (and hilarious) conversation about many things, and the next day she came back with the most beautiful lyrics. I truly felt like she had understood me on the deepest level, and written in what sounded like my own voice. Very special. We then tinkered with the lyrics until it felt complete. “All of this time turns to tape on the reel Trying to make sense of the things that I feel The moon will still be there, with or without me To stand underneath it and speak of its beauty Give to me burdens and give to me rest Life brings me both and I bring my best I will come weary with strength of my own To walk beside others on our way home Look under the bonnet and inside the case Call down the prophet, look into her face Wrestle the question and let it all go Dig in the dirt for what I already own”

Listen now: https://spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

From tomorrow I’ll start sharing a little more about each song on Among Horses IV, but first I need to explain something.

Just days before we went out to the farm to start digging for these new songs, I had one of the worst days. I don't think it was a panic attack but it was some kind of spiral and I lost control. I was in the dark and I couldn’t get out. I felt like I was 15 again. I’m really glad most of you didn’t know me then... it was bad times.

Heading out to the farm was terrifying because I didn’t know if I could move into a productive headspace. Keep in mind this was my first time trying to co-write, so there are other people involved, and invested. Having the pressure to come up with an EP in a week is one thing... heading into it from a dark place is something else entirely. Or is it?

In a desperate attempt to pull my socks up, I wrote a letter to myself - from the future. That first night I went to bed and pretended that we had already written the EP. I let myself feel relief and satisfaction - and then I wrote myself a letter from that place.

This is what I wrote:

“23 July 2018 I’m writing this on the first day of Among Horses but I’m pretending it’s the last. It’s been a hard week full of challenges I couldn’t foresee. Sometimes I coped well and other times I simply couldn’t. This project had the shakiest beginning possible but we did it. And even though it was hard and I’ve felt like a mess, I’m proud of myself. I came here broken and naked with these people, holding on to a scrap of hope, and faith. Not faith in myself really, but faith in music - that where you have vulnerability and willingness, music can be born. I want this project to be an eternal reminder to me that my vulnerability is my strength. I don’t have social charisma, a thick skin, a laugh a minute or a stable mind, but I have my vulnerability and I want to offer this with open hands, even when it hurts to reach out.”

Among Horses IV is out now: Listen now: https://spoti.fi/2VG1QXJ Digital download: https://kud.li/sc012 CD: https://soncanciones.com/en/producto/among-horses-4/

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Final (ninth) stop: Edge Kingsland, Auckland - 10 March Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Laban Cole (poet) Photos by Sasha McPherson and Timothy Armstrong.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Eighth stop: Kumeu Live, Auckland - 9 March Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Mimi Gilbert. Photos by Becki Moss and Chris Zwaagdyk / ZED pics.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Seventh stop: Meow, Wellington - 5 March Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Mimi Gilbert. Photos by Chris Harrington-Lines.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Sixth stop: Newtown Festival, Wellington - 3 March Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Performance photos by Stuart Lloyd-Harris.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Fifth stop: Private location, Wairarapa - 1 March Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. No cameras allowed during the concert. Photos by LC.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Fourth stop: Grainstore Gallery, Oamaru - 27 February Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Mimi Gilbert. Photos by Taylor Ranston.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Third stop: Lyttelton Records, Christchurch - 23 February

Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Mimi Gilbert.

Performance photos by Naomi Haussmann.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 Second stop: Nivara Lounge, Hamilton - 21 February Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong and van der Wel. Support: Mimi Gilbert. Photos by Simon Travaglia.

[lydiacole]

Aotearoa Tour 2019 First stop: Folk Brewers, Tauranga - 16 February Lydia Cole, accompanied by Timothy Armstrong. Support: Mimi Gilbert. Photos by Tee Ship Images.

[lydiacole]

Lean back, spring forward.

In February we headed back to Aotearoa New Zealand to visit and play some shows. After all those hours of travel and no sleep, I ran through Auckland Airport, grinning. I knew I really needed this.

Arriving at my (sleeping) parents' house around 1am we found flower petals on the ground leading to the front door. My mum is very thoughtful. I was so excited for the sun to come up I don't think I really slept.

Then the weather was so beautiful even the most average Auckland suburbs just popped. I couldn't believe my eyes. And it felt like a dream being reunited with so many people I share love and understanding with. I felt it in my body.

Spending the next month on tour with Mimi Gilbert (and our world's-best partners, Tim and Taylor ) was the best case scenario. No dramas, no fails, no downside. Just a purely enjoyable string of shows, meeting countless beautiful people, with a special artist.

Releasing my single 'The Sacred' during this time was key. I think it was very healing for me to be singing this new song - all about feeling deeply disoriented in Berlin, and written from the end of my tether - in my homeland. I felt like a kid, climbing into the lap of a parent to be consoled. And my healing progressed.

Now I'm back in Berlin. And because I've spent the last few months telling people from stage about The Sacred and the darkness I've been wrestling here, I thought I might just say - I'm okay. I'm actually excited to be back, which has come as a very pleasant surprise. I'm booking more tours, I'm getting out of the house, I'm playing table tennis and going out to shows.

I just needed to lean back to spring forward.

[lydiacole]