MySpace a place for friends

28th Oct 2007 - BBC Radio Wales - Interview
04th Apr 2008 - BBC Radio Wales - Melt Me Down
04th Apr 2008 - BBC Radio Wales - Reclaimed

Nature, in all its transfiguring power and beauty, is held up as a mirror to love in Louise Latham’s extraordinary songs, which she has been writing since 1997. But look closely and you will see cracks in the glass. The warm, radiant images on ‘Beautiful Sky’ belie the heartbreak that inspired them. ‘Sun going down slowly/ Majestic and bold against the sky/ Colours like veins of love/ The contours of our life.’ The metaphor of a darkening sunset to describe the end of a cherished relationship is apt, courageous, and wonderfully simple.

“I started writing songs as a cathartic experience,” Louise says, “and out of a desire to tell stories. I am inspired by people’s journeys, their motivations, dreams and disappointments. Mostly, the subject of the song is someone close to me and this means that the song is charged with an emotional energy that is quite subjective.”

This energy is sustained by the elegant arrangements for piano, cello and guitar that mark out her songs, and by Louise’s impassioned delivery. The tenderness you hear in her voice on ‘Saint’, a story of love stretched to its emotional limits, is spiked by the defiance of the chorus. “I’m not a saint/ Will you try to see my humanity?/ Will you try to understand/ The imperfections of man?”

Louise, who grew up in Cardiff and studied English literature at Royal Holloway, cites Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox and Tracy Chapman as key songwriting influences. These are useful reference points, although Louise’s atmospheric, Celtic-flavoured sound and beguiling lyrics are distinctively her own.

She recorded her first EP, Beautiful Sky, in 2004 with producer Lee Goodall (who played saxophone with Van Morrison). Moving to London to perform on the live circuit, she caught the attention of acclaimed producer Arno Guveau, who set about refining and enriching her sound. The result was a captivating second EP, Notes After Dark, recorded in 2005 at Markant Studios, Holland, with Louise’s sister Suzanne on backing vocals.

Since then, Louise has worked with an impressive array of top producers including Greg Haver [Manic Street Preachers] and Stephen Lipson [Annie Lennox]. Her writing talents are much in demand on the acoustic circuit, hence her collaboration with writers Charlie Dore [Hayley Westenra] and Richard Lobb [Lucie Silvas]. As well as touring with Dutch star Stevie Ann, she has supported the Jamiroquai Band, the Storys and Tom Baxter, and has performed live on BBC Radio Wales.

Now, Louise is working on her debut album, which she will be releasing on her own label in 2009. Listen carefully: you will hear the sound of a major new songwriting talent coming to fruition.

Written by Killian Fox