NE Build A Playlist #08 Cornelia Papiez

Playlist

I'm Cornelia. I sing and write songs. I'm a Care and Support worker. I'm the other half of Rose Bush, and I attempt to play a few instruments on the side. The music I've curated here, attempts to paint a picture of who I am artistically. Hopefully, it also shows you some of the themes that our upcoming album, Indigo gravitates towards.

Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love Track for playlist: Cloudbusting

Kate Bush is quite simply my artistic hero. I fell in love with her unparalleled talent as a storyteller at a young age. As I listened more closely, her ability to straddle the line between melancholy and euphoria, opened my mind to the complexity of the human condition. But her pioneering sonic experiments, particularly on her twin masterpieces, Hounds Of Love (1985) and Aerial (2005), led me to the realisation that the concept album is the most sophisticated form of artistic expression.

I blew my student loan on getting tickets to her concerts in 2014, where she performed both of these pieces in their entireties. The second sides of both albums are like night and day, with the menacing, celtic undercurrents of The Ninth Wave contrasting beautifully against the lush soundscapes of A Sky Of Honey. I would recommend listening to the second sides of both albums back to back. I can only pick one. For That reason I have to go with Hounds Of Love. The first side is dominated by some of her most enduring hits. The last song, Cloudbusting, is my pick. It is my favourite song of all time. It always brings me down when I am happy, and it always cheers me up when I am sad.

Jeff Wayne - Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds

Track for playlist: Horsell Common and the Heat Ray

Richard Burton's melodic speaking voice is the first sound we hear. As he speaks, his rich tones convey the tension, terror and the spectacle that is about to unfold.

I was so frightened of this music as a girl. The drama and theatre of it all has a freshness and still sounds as though it is grounded in reality. These sounds are a major influence on Rose Bush's current project. The music flows between classical, rock and synth pop. Each element is fused together to create a visceral dystopia. Nowhere can this be more evident than on the second track on the album. You can almost feel the mottled flesh of the alien slipping against the stone of the pavement as it is revealed to us. The repeated cries of”Ulla!” serve as a recurring motif, and draw us back into the terrifying, distorted reality of the narrator's world again and again.

Mozart - Requiem

Track for playlist: Lacrimosa

Several fables surround the creation of this work. The most notorious is that a cloaked stranger commissioned the Mass and did not reveal his identity. Mozart then came to believe that the stranger was death himself, and that he was composing it for his own funeral. Mozart died before he could complete it. How much truth there is in the tale, we'll never know, but for me this is one of the ultimate concept albums. The oppressive atmosphere of finality seeps into every sinew of sound. When I listen to the Lacrimosa, I feel as if I am facing my own mortality.

Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief

Track for playlist: Farewell, Farewell

I grew up on the Teesside Fettlers, so folk has always been part of my musical fabric. When I first listened to this gem of an album though, I was educated on the blurring of the timeless with the contemporary. Sandy Denny's haunting vocals capture this concept perfectly. Nowhere more so than on Farewell, Farewell. Denny Has been a continuous influence on my writing and vocals. In my opinion, she is one of the most underrated singer/songwriters that this country has ever produced.

Blondie - Eat To The Beat

Track for playlist: Atomic

Which is cooler, this slab of disco-punk, or Debbie Harry herself? Why choose? Why not put them both together? Jesus. That riff. The beat. The simplicity of Harry's intangible lyrics. I feel like I'm closing my eyes on the sunset, with the window down, driving along an empty motorway every time I listen to this song. Aside from anything else, the space the music gives itself is something I sometimes find myself confronted by. The build up is so natural and easy. Something I aspire to when working on my own material.

Rose Bush's INDIGO will unfurl later this year!