Marsden & Richardson: Transparent Blue Vinyl LP

Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson first started writing songs together in their teens after meeting at school in their Southampton hometown. Forming Band of Skulls 17 years ago with drummer Matt Hayward, they went on to make five acclaimed studio albums together. Now, the pair have temporarily stepped away from Band of Skulls to focus on a new musical project they’ve been dreaming about since their earliest songwriting days. The album covers the full breadth of human emotions, mining deeply into songs about human connection, vulnerability, loss, change, love, identity and forgiveness – as well as the future and hope. It’s vast in scope, something magnified by its grandiose cinematic feel that leans towards the soaring jazz arrangements of the 40s and 50s. The album’s strings were scored and directed by Tom Edwards, who had worked with Band of Skulls previously when he’d reimagined several of their songs. “When Tom sent back the first song, ‘Outsider’, it was a jaw-dropping moment for us to see what he’d done with it,” Emma says. “We challenged him to take inspiration from the incredible composers and arrangers from the 40s and 50s jazz era such as Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins. Russell and I have always loved those records and the string arrangements from that time always stagger us and Tom got this entirely. What he did with the strings, time and time again blew us away.” Nostalgia is another theme running throughout the album. The pair sight a Portuguese word  ‘Saudade’ which refers to the nostalgic feeling of longing for something that’s passed and is no longer around, but also looks forward with hope to the possibilities of the future. “This concept played on our minds,” Emma says, thinking the idea could be the thread which ties the album’s songs together. It’s seen well on ‘Mama’, which sees a character singing with nostalgia about memories from childhood and realising the love they had then will shape their own future. ‘Oh Forgiveness’ looks back on a difficult past but finds catharsis in looking forward and ‘That’s What Other People Do’ sees a couple finding a connection by revisiting memories from the past.