FFO: Amateur Ornithologist – Winter Sun

North East weird‑pop outfit Amateur Ornithologist release their first Christmas single, Winter Sun. Built on choral vocals, jingling rhythms and twinkling keys, the track sketches a wintry scene with blustery brass, atmospheric guitars and a sleek string section. It’s shaped by songwriter Daniel Clifford and Maddie Smyth’s vocals, with viola and cello from Smyth and Marianne Kell. Dan Humble’s percussion, Chris Perriman’s bass and Gio Onofri’s guitar textures steer the song’s shifts, joined by guest turns from Nick Pierce (electric violin), Abigail Brierley (trumpet) and Rick Matthews (keys). Lyrically, Winter Sun looks back to Clifford’s childhood sledging trips on Cleadon Hills.

Here, the band try and summarise the sounds of their latest single using only three tracks…

The Divine Comedy – Our Mutual Friend

I’ve been a fan of Neil Hannon’s music since overhearing my older brother playing his albums when I was a kid. I was drawn in by the witty lyrics, dramatic melodies and the grand orchestration. Our Mutual Friend from Absent Friends is probably a good example of the sort of thing I’m aiming for in songs like Winter Sun – albeit without the big budget. Hannon’s diction, nostalgic bent, and willingness to tell a story are all things that have influenced me. I really want to make my lyrics as clear and audible as possible, and have tunes people can sing along to. The percussion by our drummer Dan Humble has the same sort of widescreen feel as on this track, and our string players, Maddie Smyth and Marianne Kell (plus Nick Pierce from Staithe on electric violin), create a lush movement through Winter Sun’s odd structure. Both songs also end with an instrumental climax. We couldn’t afford a symphony orchestra, but we did get Abigail Brierley in to play the trumpet part.

Echo and the Bunnymen – The Cutter

Okay, Winter Sun doesn’t sound anything like The Cutter… but there are some similarities, just bear with me. The energy and pace the Bunnymen bring to this is definitely what we were aiming for in Winter Sun, plus Chris Perriman’s bass line has the sort of melodic throb of Les Pattison’s work, and Gio Onofri offers up some shimmering guitar atmospherics that I think Will Sergeant would be pleased with. However, the main thing linking the songs was that I wanted to create a middle eight for Winter Sun that had the feel of a chorus, like the section of The Cutter that starts, “Am I the happy loss…”. That bit comes back later and begins a refrain of its own, so I wanted to do something similar, and I’m really pleased with this odd structure of the song.

Fun Boy Three – The Tunnel of Love

Terry Hall is remembered more for The Specials than the rest of his output, but Fun Boy Three’s second album, Waiting, is a classic that I listen to a lot. This track has some amazing wordplay, catchy tunes and an amazing drumbeat that we were definitely inspired by for Winter Sun (the demo had this sort of marching beat all the way through, but it’s only in the intro sections on the final version). Fun Boy Three utilised strings and backing vocals in their arrangements in a similar way to Amateur Ornithologist, creating little hooks and riffs in counterpoint to the main melody.