THE BEDSIT POETS: A glorious psych, mellow madness.
THE BEDSIT POETS, a beautiful union between the heart of England and the glorious musical culture of NYC, have just released their third album, ‘All Roads Lead Me Back.’
The joint venture of solo recording artists Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe, ‘The Bedsit Poets’ combine the passion and energy of Patti Smith’s ‘Radio Ethiopia,’ the songwriting and singing of Kevin Ayers ‘Shooting at the Moon,’ with the pathos of Marianne Faithful, a glorious psych, mellow madness.
Over the years, the duo continued to exchange lyrics and musical ideas, and in 2020 reunited to write new songs. Following two years of transatlantic work, they came together in NYC to record with their long-time producer, Don Piper.
“Edward and I used to spend many hours together in person, so the transatlantic writing process was more of a challenge for me,” said Amanda. “But it was also more disciplined in the sense that we had a set time via video call and were bouncing files back and forth.
“I love the process of songwriting, merging music and words to express the layers of an emotion, the feeling within a point of view. Songwriting in collaboration with a good friend is a joy, it’s like conversation on steroids! You’re bouncing ideas around, agreeing, disagreeing, building, changing, adapting, and creating.”
“As an observational writer and a Brit living in New York City, it gives me a unique perspective,” added Edward. “And with my writing partner based in London, we had to allow each other the freedom to change lyrics and music as we were developing the songs.
“I feel this album has stretched both Amanda and my music ideas, bringing in electronics and loops which created a different music direction for us, and breaking away – without throwing away – the Bedsit Poets sounds of yesterday.”
The band chosen for ‘All Roads Lead Me Back’ features an astonishing lineup, including James Mastro on guitar (Ian Hunter, The Bongos, John Cale), Sal Maida on bass (Roxy Music, Sparks), and Konrad Meissner on drums (Silos, Graham Parker). The album also includes parts from Joe McGinty (Psychedelic Furs, Ronnie Spector), Tony Scherr (Bill Frisell, Sex Mob, Laurie Anderson), Mac Randall and Yair Schleider.
Catch THE BEDSIT POETS live at London’s ‘The Betsey Trotwood’ on March 28th.
Details: The Betsey Trotwood
