Little Fish
Oxford, England, United Kingdom | MAJOR
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It all started four years ago in an Oxford fish and chip shop. Now Little Fish (no mention of tiny chips, eh?) are playing with the likes of Them Crooked Vultures, Alice In Chains and Hole. And the band provide the latest Track Of The Day. Check out all the Tracks Of The Day.
The band feature vocalist/guitarist Julia ‘Juju’ Sophie and drummer Neil ‘Naz’ Greenaway. An appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2007 led to a deal with Custard Records, owned by Linda Perry (who’s been associated with Courtney Love and Kelly Osbourne, among others). An EP, Darling Dear, came out last year and new single Am I Crazy? is out on June 14.
“The song is an emotional expression of the pain you can go through when falling in love with someone – hence the ‘Am I Crazy? line,” explains Juju, who’s been compared to Grace Slick and Patti Smith. “This refers to the fact that the person singing the song thinks that they are insane to be in love. The song is a cry for help – it is screaming, help me! I’m falling in love with you, you are driving me crazy. Ultimately, the person singing the song wishes that they had never fallen in love in the first place.” - ClassicRockMagazine.com (UK)
"Thrilling Debut..."
(to see PDF of print review, click: http://littlefishmusic.com/tagged/review) - Kerrang! (UK)
From an Oxford chip shop to an LA studio, Little Fish are a star in the ascendancy.
Oxford newcomers Little Fish are living the dream. Having toured with their heroes – Blondie, Hole, Them Crooked Vultures – they’re about to release their debut album, Baffled And Beat, a collection of emotionally raw, soulful, timeless rock’n’roll that sounds vastly bigger than the two founder members – vocalist and guitarist Juju Sophie and drummer Nez Greenaway.
If the pair ever need to get their feet back on the ground, though, they need just look back at their inauspicious, very British start. “We met in a fish and chip shop in Oxford on a rowdy night out,” laughs Juju. “We were pretty drunk. I was being really loud and boisterous and shouting at my friend about how drum solos never had a role in any song, at which point Nez perked up and decided to put me in my place.”
A couple of years later, the band’s fairy godmother arrived in the shape of producer, chart-annihilating pop songwriter and former Non-Blonde Linda Perry. Her UK A&R rep had seen them perform in London, and when their demo landed on Perry’s desk she was so blown away she promptly cancelled her Hawaiian holiday and hopped on a plane to England. Soon she was whisking the stunned pair to her LA studio to work on their first album.
“Linda just flew over to come and see us play in the tiniest pub in Oxford,” says Juju. “It was a really big thing for us. We didn’t know what to expect, we were just a little band doing our thing, you know? And then she took us to America and we did a week in her studio. We got on really well and she decided to offer us a deal [with her Custard label], and she produced our first album. I think she just liked our energy, our songs, the fact that we weren’t very processed. We have a lot of energy and hunger, and I think she found that refreshing.”
Not bad considering Juju found her musical epiphany relatively late, picking up a guitar for the first time at the age of 17, which was around the time she discovered the artists she’d come to love: The Rolling Stones, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. The warm, bluesy, 70s style bleeds into Little Fish’s own songs, and Juju is often favourably compared to singers like Patti Smith.
“I feel really honoured,” she says. “I don’t think I actually sound like Patti Smith, though I might have a bit of the spirit. But sometimes when I’m compared to somebody, I just think it’s a reminder of the limits of what there is to be compared to as a singer. Patti Smith and Jefferson Airplane seem to come up quite a lot, and that’s wicked, but I wish there were more women out there doing it and being strong. Mind you, every time I’m lugging equipment round at two o’clock in the morning I’m thinking: ‘That’s why they’re not doing this!’”. - Classic Rock Magazine (UK)
Going against review convention, I’m going to start with Blondie and then discuss the warm up act, Little Fish, mainly due to the fact that’s the order in which they should have performed…
Little Fish on the other hand were pocket rocket awesomeness. Yes, awesomeness. The female front, Juju; a teeny-tiny, lithe, but obviously strong woman, with a voice of so much depth the laws of physics seem distorted when she sings, is a refreshing change in the current soft female vocal market. You can understand why Eagles of Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures picked them for tour. Playing their new single, Am I Crazy? and the spine tingling Sweat n Shiver, the crowd got into Little Fish’s set, enough to give them a cheer. They got me very excited and I can’t wait to see them again. Dirty distortion, heart vibrating drums and gritty, soul tearing vocals here I come. All in all, it wasn’t the best gig I’ve ever been to, but Debbie, you’ve still got something. Juju, I’m looking forward to seeing you perform again.
By Steph Hamil
thegirlsare.wordpress.com
Jul, 26, 2010 - TheGirlsAre.wordpress.com (UK)
"Oxford Garage Rock Duo Slay Their Demons In Style"
(click link for PDF: http://littlefishmusic.com/tagged/review) - Kerrang! (UK)
... Hole looked even more lackluster after an opening set by Little Fish, a three-piece band from Oxford, England, that is about to release an album on Ms. Perry’s label, Custard. Julia Sophie, its singer and guitarist, seizes the incantatory tone of Patti Smith, P. J. Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux. Her thick, quivering voice rode three-chord rock songs that accelerated as she wailed about desire and power, and sent her striding and skittering around the stage.
Little Fish’s one slow tune, with sparse, sustained organ behind a plaintive “I lost my way,” was equally arresting. Little Fish had the raw rock spark that doesn’t depend on fame.
A version of this review appeared in print on April 29, 2010, on page C6 of the New York edition.
By JON PARELES New York Times
Published: April 28, 2010
- The New York Times
"My new Patti Smith. Juju has an amazing voice" - Gaz Coombes
"Twice as good as the best unsigned act you've ever heard... and then some." - Tim Bearder
"When it comes to hearing good new bands for the first time, there's sit-up-and-take-notice music and there's jump-up-and-accidentally-bang-your-head-on-the-ceiling music. Little Fish are the first, immediately transposed by the second." - Dave
"It took Juju 6.9 seconds, wearing a wife-beater suggestively perked in two places, her brilliant vocals, wicked guitar playing and hard accompanying drums to turn us all into a Sex Pistol. Little Fish is music's missionary position and why they're NOT on NME's list of New Bands to watch in 2008 is beyond me. I would definitely make space for Little Fish." - High Tomasz
It's been a while since a new rock act made The Who's management team go weak at the knees but Little Fish are without a doubt worth getting damp in the gusset for.
They might only be a duo but Juju and Nez certainly pack a punch.
The chugging Sweat And Shiver wouldn't have sounded out of place on Lou Reed record while Bang Bang is the sound of Placebo at their most demonic.
Great also to hear a rock band focusing on melody over senseless riffery too, with the brutal banshee-like vocals of pumped-up Sarah Connor lookalike Juju never making way for feedback on highlight Die Young.
The addition of some rather impressive, if primeval, drumming from no-nonsense Nez also takes your mind in darker corners and judging by the kick drum thud could even be used as some form of emergency treatment for Cardiac arrest sufferers.
Sure Little Fish's rock influences sometimes threaten to drown out their individuality, but there's no denying their ambition and stage presence. - James Cabooter
Discography
1) "Darling Dear" 3 song Maxi Single rel. 10/13/09 via Custard / Universal Motown.
2) "Am I Crazy" single rel. 5/25/10.
3) Debut album "Baffled And Beat" rel. 8/13/10 (in UK) via Custard / Island.
Music streaming from www.myspace.com/littlefishmusic
Photos
Bio
Sometimes an artist is more than that he or she is more like a force of nature. In combination with another like-minded individual, real power is manifested and all who witness their energy get caught up in their vortex. One half is guitarist, singer and songwriter Juju, a lithe, brunette androgyne. The other half is Nez, a powerhouse, take no prisoners, ruddy drummer. Together they make LITTLE FISH.
Onstage, it's sensual thunder, drawing you in with dangerous warmth. Most often Juju's self taught guitar style blazes through as Nez vigorously propels himself and beats his way through the songs. "It's like an exorcism," says Juju when the songs come. "They are based on human expression, sometimes things that can't be said are best left sung."
As a child Juju found music "too overwhelming". She was so affected by the sound of music that she found it far too difficult to enjoy any listening experience. By her own account, she spent her childhood "running away from it." Preferring sports, she was not one to go out and buy records. "I didn't do any music most of my life. It was only during my last years at school I came close to music. I used to sneak into the music class to learn more about music but got kicked out for not knowing enough. It forced me to go home, get my own instrument and learn how to play chords. This lead to me writing my very first song."
Nez swam a different stream to Juju. "My musical background starts with 'The Old Grey Whistle Test (a popular British 70s and 80s TV show)," muses Nez. "My Dad was really into '70's music, which lead to my fascination with the drums. He then paid for me to have drum lessons when I was 10 and 11yrs old. I drifted away from it for a bit, but when I was 14 or 15yrs old I regained my enthusiasm and joined a rock band with my schoolmates. It was from this that I got into different styles of music: Big Band Jazz, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Frank Zappa. From there I played in different bands of all differing styles. Then I met Juju and it gave me a new challenge and experience."
LITTLE FISH is a duo, augmented by a Hammond player live, with a broad sonic palette and a very deep emotional range. There are hints of downtown New York post punk circa 1982 as seen in "Darling Dear," but then LITTLE FISH surprises you with a song like "Luck's Run Out" and "Am I Crazy?" Nothing flattens them; LITTLE FISH stand their ground.
Their debut album BAFFLED & BEAT, to be released May 11th, 2010 and produced by Linda Perry, fuses the volatile, the crazy, the vulnerable, punk, rock, angry, insecure, refreshing anxiety, and have created a raw and modest record. And then there's the unexplainable, the indefinable, the swagger, the vibe, that thing of "owning it." In their company, on their recordings, at their gigs, LITTLE FISH has it.
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