A.A. Williams has been gradually making waves in the underground music scene these last couple of years, releasing a number or albums and EPs, and having played many tours and festivals, including the recent Supersonic Festival, which took place last weekend. Interested to find out more about her influences, we asked her to come up with 3 releases that have influenced her a lot. She comments “Of course, picking three favourite albums is incredibly hard, so I’ve chosen three records that broadened my musical horizons and taught me something about musical textures.” Read more about the 3 excellent choices here:
Cult Of Luna – Somewhere Along The Highway
I was introduced to this record by a friend around 2012/13. I was working away from home at the time and spent a lot of long journeys listening to this album and watching the slowly shifting landscapes out of a van window. I think this was the first post-metal album that I’d heard and it was a complete revelation – the crushing weight of the heavier sections topped off by Johannes’ Earth-shattering vocal created a sound that completely blew my mind.
Type O Negative – October Rust
An album that sounds simultaneously ‘of-a-time’ yet still fresh, October Rust is one of my favourite goth rock records. The guitar, bass and synth tones are so satisfying, they feel full and luscious underneath Peter Steele’s brooding baritone drawl and create a texture that feels so distinctly Type-O that it’s almost impossible not to use it as a benchmark against which to compare others that venture into the same soundworld.
Portishead – Third
I love the variety of instrumentation across this album. Wonky sax solos, ukuleles and some very jagged percussion slot in perfectly alongside the ever-present blend of electronic instruments, guitars and Beth Gibbon’s serene vocal, everything somehow occupying just the right amount of space. This record to me is a masterclass in minimalism – every musical element has been so immaculately selected to serve a very particular role, nothing is unnecessary, everything is meaningful.
