In this episode of the KWL Podcast, Steph and first-time co-host Mickie interview Bishop Blue, a musical duo that is pioneering the concept of “novel songwriting.” Bandmates Damon and Nicola called us from their home city of Manchester to discuss what it’s like to be at the forefront of a new category of cross-media art. They told us about where the idea to pair music and literature came from and talked about the origins of their musical partnership. They explained their process for identifying an author’s vision for what their book should “sound like,” and shared their techniques for bringing the atmosphere of a story to life through music. They also spoke about their current collaborations with authors, and even gave us a sneak peek of some upcoming plans and projects!
- Nicola and Damon knew each other in university. Embracing their different musical backgrounds, they teamed up in 2017 to form the pop/gospel band Bishop Blue.
- Damon tells the story of how they first came up with the idea to work with authors to create music that complements their books.
- Nicola and Damon discuss their methods for discerning what an author wants when Bishop Blue undertakes Novel Songwriting for their book.
- It is important for Bishop Blue to not lose their own voice in the process of creating music to reflect a character or story. They describe how they try to get into the minds of the characters that they are reflecting in their songs in order to make sure that their Novel Songwriting rings true.
- The band also explains how they prepare to create music to go along with a story, and share some details about the process of collaborating with the authors they’ve worked with.
- They talk about the different ways that authors have used their Novel Songs in the past, and they reveal some of their plans for how their music will be used in the future.
- Nicola describes some of their experiences of emotionally connecting with their audiences, and Damon talks about how involved their fanbase is in supporting the band in their work.
- The pair mentions some of their dream projects and expresses the hope that they’ll be able to help hundreds of authors in creating musical supplements to their writing.
- Damon and Nicola also explain how authors can request that Bishop Blue work with them to craft musical accompaniment for their books (Short answer: just write to them — They’d love to hear from you!).
- This episode also includes clips taken from two songs by Bishop Blue––check them out below!
Hailing from Manchester and Ireland, Bishop Blue are a Pop Americana Duo band. Combing anthemic lead lines with an expansive choral sound. Bishop Blue pours out autobiographical memoirs in a quest for sonic escapism.
Back from their headline show in Paris earlier this year, Bishop Blue dived back into the studio. After a couple months of refining their soundscape they are due to release their debut album coming in Summer 2019. They ended the year with writing a song for international best-selling author Adam Croft for his book ‘Her Last Tomorrow’ and releasing the song on 5th December 2018 under the same name, this receiving worldwide reviews. The Novel Songwriting band have just been a confirmed to support American artist old sea brigade on his return to your Europe in early 2019.
With 2019’s song and novel collaborations already being discussed in numerous languages around the world, the band will also release their own debut book titled The Stories Behind The Music; a dual language book for their English and French fans. ‘Every song has its own story for us and after working on our book for the last two years we are so excited about releasing it,’ Damon and Nicola Bishop Blue.
