by Erinn Fortson
A journey isn’t always about physical travel. It can be metaphoric, symbolized through mental and spiritual growth. Sometimes, these two types of traveling go hand in hand, and visiting a tangible location can be the inspiration for evolution. In their latest album, Blood Speaks, Smoke Fairies examine these themes, through the lens of their own experiences.
“We did a tour a few years ago and we had to drive between Seattle and Montana,” says Jessica Davies. “It took about two days and that was just epic, really; when you can drive for miles without seeing anybody. I really like that sense of getting lost. It’s very inspiring for writing songs, being that remote.”
Creating Blood Speaks has been a journey in its own right, as this record has British duo Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies exploring new territory. Smoke Fairies have stepped outside their folk roots and experimented with a new sound, not wanting to be stuck in a specific music genre. “I guess it just gets a bit boring doing the same things”, says Davies. “You listen to more things and kind of evolve. It wasn’t a decision, like now we’re going to change. I think you just do it naturally, you want to push yourself. So I think we tried to do that on Blood Speaks. We got more confident on our guitars and it was more fun to try out pedals and just working with our drummer on rhythms, which we didn’t really do that on the earlier stuff.”
Originally debuting on May 21st last year, Bloods Speaks made its way to the States a few weeks ago. Davies and Blamire feel a strong connection to the U.S., so releasing the album here was important to the group. “We’ve always been drawn to America,” Davies says. “I think our music has quite a lot of American influence. So, getting American fans and getting the opportunity to keep visiting is something we definitely want to achieve.”
The band hopes to join their album in America sometime this next year with a string of performance dates. “We’ve toured quite a bit in the States already and we’ve just had the most amazing time over there,” Davies says. “So, I guess we’ll see how this release goes, but we’re planning to hopefully come out this year.”
Growing up together in rural Chichester, Sussex, and meeting each other through school, Davies and Blamire were motivated by music at an early age. The two friends picked up guitars and decided to start band before they were even teenagers. “You know, when you’re 12, you just come up with these ideas how it would be cool to go on tour and have a tour bus full of your own band and stuff,” says Davies. “I guess we’re just stubborn and kept at it.”
Starting the band was the easy part. Coming up with a name for the group was a bit more challenging. Eventually, Davies and Blamire were inspired by their hometown.
“Around Chichester is very rural and there’s lots of hedgerows and windy kind of one lane roads,” Davies explains. “And at night all the mist collects up, so it’s creepy driving alone. It’s very isolated. One night there were all these misty kind of figures on the road and I guess one of us said, oh, smoke fairies. And then you just think, hmmm, that’s a good name for a band. But the name has kind of evolved as we’ve gone on. It can have many meanings for different people I guess.”
