Sugarcane – Bethnal Green Blues

Sugarcane Explore 21sst Century Calypso

Not yet an act that’s likely to be on your radar, Sugarcane is the creative collaboration of two stars of the UK TV scene. Founded by writer Robin French, co-creator of BBC series Cuckoo, the band also features Antonia Thomas, star of Misfits and Lovesick, on vocals.

It’s a track inspired by sounds from across the globe, influenced by Bossa Nova in South America in Particular. The duo have been creating smooth soul, jazz and fusion together for a number of years and have finally released their first piece or work. On the track, the band state

““I think in the Fifties, bossa nova got associated exclusively with Jazz and (that horrible phrase) easy listening – but I love the way bands like Little Joy and Devendra Banhart put it in much more of a folk or indie place. That’s where Sugarcane are coming from on this EP, and particularly on this song. It’s weird – sometimes you write a sad song from a happy moment. This song sort of popped into my head while I was flying to South America to see a girl I’d fallen for. It’s about the emotional ice age after a romance fails, but it was written as that ice melted under the Argentine sun. This is a tough song to sing because it goes low and high – but Antonia has such a great range, we had lots of choices where we put it. Her voice sounds good everywhere!”

Photo cred Sian Herbert.