HAZE 27

Submissions are open for the Eco Arts Awards. The annual competition doles out a $2,000 Grand Prize for songwriting, which is pretty amazing! Several winners from years past have come through Sonicbids. We thought we’d catch up with some past selections.

We caught up with Hazel Tratt, who took home 2nd place last year.

How’d you get started in music?: I grew up in a household passionate about music, art and the natural world and started writing songs at the age of 10. It felt like a very natural progression, getting into music. There was always a record playing at home, whether it be The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Randy Crawford, early Elton John etc. As a teenager especially, writing songs was second nature – a way to express and expel all those crazy emotions coming and going.

Give us the story behind your winning song: ’Mothernature’ was a song I wrote after moving from a small town in The New Forest to the chaos of London. Every so often I go through a phase of wanting to run away, discarding all possessions and living off the land. As long as you have someone who cares for you, all you need to survive is ‘Mothernature’

What are you up to now?: I’m leading the London-based band Gold Road. We have a new EP called Planes coming out shortly. - Sonicbids

Our listeners fell in love with this song in their droves and it’s easy to see why. From the moment the opening chords ring out, it feels like the only natural thing to do is drop everything and listen as raindrop pianos and delicate vocals wash over you. Haze’s stunning voice bursts into bloom in the choruses with sumptuous, gospel-esque backing vocals and ethereal swells of lap steel giving it an almost celestial feel. Life affirming and beautiful, this is the kind of music that has the power to sooth a tormented soul – share it with a friend. - Fresh On The Net online music blog

We don’t know much about young Londoner Hazel Tratt as yet, except that her Facebook profile says that listening to her is like ‘being presented a bunch of flowers by a stranger’. Probably not the best metaphor, given most of us would probably be alarmed and dump said flowers out of suspicion, but we imagine they mean something much less cynical than that.

A former winner of the BBC New Songwriter competition, session singer Haze is now striking out on her own. It’s a wise move: the gospel-like Baby Don’t Lose It and the quirky pop of Only His Love are like a spunkier Corinne Bailey Rae. We’re looking forward to more Haze-y days. - Press Play online music blog

A former winner of the BBC New Songwriter competition and former session singer, Haze aka. Hazel Tratt has recently struck out on her own, making music so delicately intimate and sincerely heartfelt that it almost feels intrusive to listen. The beautifully understated ‘My Love’ has a bewitching quality, producing the sensation that Haze could be sat right next to you quietly cooing directly into your ear rather than through your speakers. It’s a testament to Haze‘s skill as a songwriter that a song so subtle as ‘My Love’ can be just as, if not more affecting than a track with an overblown array of instrumentation.

The foundation of ‘My Love’ is based upon simple keys, with a smattering of gentle percussion and lilting saxophone, but its easy to completely overlook any instrumentation as you are carried away by Haze‘s vocals. Sweet yet smoky, her tones have drawn comparison to The Cardigans‘ Nina Persson, Joni Mitchell and even Dusty Springfield. While this is an impressive club to be part of, Haze is certainly a unique talent in her own right. - Generator online music blog

The gentle tones of Haze’s lounge pop provided a moment of respite against all the bluster. Imagine Nina from The Cardigans cooing at a keyboard and vocally you’d be getting close to the mark - Breaking More Waves online music blog

"With the late arrival of summer causing music lovers to flock to the parks with their iPods a-blaring, the tardy season is in vital need of a soundtrack and who better to do it then vibrant young newcomer Gold Road? This West London based nine-piece operates as a vehicle for frontwoman Hazel Tratt’s deft songwriting ability and sun-smooched vocal talent.

From the carefree insouciance of ‘Madeline’ that marries a stomping beat with a jaunty horn section and a jagged up-stroked guitar riff to the Madness-esque time ska breakdown on the EP’s eponymous track ‘Planes’, Tratt’s mellifluous voice sails over the lushly produced instrumentation as effortlessly yet harmoniously as a songbird on the breeze. Unafraid to wear their Motown influences on their sleeve, Gold Road’s lyrics posit their songs as paeans to lost love as well as cautious warnings to casual lovers on ‘Big Brown Eyes’, “Don’t go astray, honey look my way.” 

With a musical sound that treads a line between Franco-pop and 60’s-era Supremes, it seems as if Gold Road are well on their way to winning the hearts of any audience that is fortuitous enough to hear them this year; if you’re lucky yourself, they might just take you along for the trip." - David Harfield - Independent Music Blogger

"Hazel Tratt, aka Gold Road’s voice melted me. So well. No burnt bits or air bubbles. I really, really like this. A mix of Lily Allen (one of my favourite artists), some Blondie, some guitar skanks and some lovely chord progressions"
- Massimo Zeppetelli (Freshnet Team) - Freshonthenet.co.uk (Tom Robinson BBC6 Music Blog)

"‘Madeline’ is three-and-a-half minutes of pure, unadulterated loveliness. With breezy, Motown-influenced arrangements rounded off beautifully by Hazel Tratt’s gorgeous vocals, it’s the perfect song to soundtrack your (hopefully) sunny bank holiday weekend. Oh, and you can also download it for free from Gold Road’s SoundCloud page."
- Sam Lee (Freshnet Team) - Freshonthenet.co.uk (Tom Robinson BBC6 Music Blog)

"Planes is an EP full of timeless pop music that will bring a great deal of joy to this world...an EP that I strongly recommend you add to your collection." - A Musical Priority

"Anyone with an ear for the shimmery pop of ’60s Motown will certainly be wooed by the soulful pleasures of Gold Road, who release their debut EP “Planes” tomorrow. Featuring members of various established London bands, the band’s brightly crafted melodies are sun-kissed by Haze Tratt’s golden vocals, which are as soothing as they are memorable and put paid to the idea that you can’t hurry love by casting you into an instant romantic swoon. The singer also writes all the songs and has captured the lost spirit of old soul, but with a sense of production restraint which avoids the more garish sensibilities of latter day Berry Gordy efforts.

A quick glance at the band’s website suggests the band is a nine-piece, replete with a brass section, and judging from the material on “Planes” they look set to be quite a formidable live proposition. Opening track “Madeline” is a treat of Supreme proportions, down to the straight-out-of-Motown backing vocals, a killer chorus and blissful, shimmering guitar and horns. Title track “Planes” might just be even better, fusing a dash of reggae with some Shangri-La stomp and a vocal as sweet as it is vulnerable. Something in the band’s blend of Detroit influences and contemporary sensibilities is reminiscent of Camera Obscura in their ability to create something fresh and endearing from familiar sources. Fingers crossed for a Brighton appearance in the near future, but in the meantime you’ll find us dancing in the streets to this sweetly soulful temptation." - Lazy Brighton