Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop perform'Kiss Me Quick' - premiere

Exclusive: Beam and Hoop perform a stunning version of the track from their album 'Love Letter For Fire'

Roisin O'Connor
Friday 26 August 2016 08:02 BST
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Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop released their exquisite album 'Love Letter For Fire' back in April but recently embarked on a tour together, which includes stops at London's Union Chapel and End of the Road festival.

They've recorded a wonderful version of 'Kiss Me Quick' which we're premiering today on The Independent - check it out and let us know what you think:

Q&A with Jesca Hoop

What are you listening to at the moment?

I've been enjoying music with no human voices a lot lately. In particular Ludovico Einaudi - I've been working around the house to his album Divenire. I find that my critical brain speaks much less when there are no human voices present, I feel less judgemental. Ive got less....“mmmm...not enough salt.... needs acid” kind of attitudes.

Anytime I can be less critical the better. Anytime I can quiet my qualms with “music” the better. With no lyrics, no vocal stylings i find it easier to simply enjoy the music. That is not to say that I only listen to instrumental music, I'm a great lover of singer songwriters and singers from all genres...lately though I've been enjoying listening to music without human voices.

What was it like recording with Sam and how do you feel about the result of your collaboration?

It was a great joy and very relaxed. We had a lot to achieve in a very short period of time but breezed through it with much laughter. I believe some of our complimentary yet opposing recording styles made for a better record in the end as well. One memory that lives large in my mind is the hugs I received from the band at the end of the sessions.

Some of them were teary eyed and everybody was brimming with joy, excitement and gratitude for sharing the experience of creating these beautiful records together. I take that as a testament to the songs that Sam and I wrote. 'Love Letter For Fire' was a very satisfying and fulfilling process. I am very grateful for the experience and happy that this little gem of a record is alive and making its way around the big blue world.

What are your plans for the rest of 2016?

There is this tour with Sam coming up that takes me from August through September. Then I focus on Artwork and videos for my new record which will come out early 2017. Then in November I'm going to do a small tour around the UK to start playing these new songs for people as a sort of introduction to the new record.

Other than that, I am designing a kitchen and a bathroom in a house that my beloved and I recently renovated. I do love to nest. Then its xmas time....I'm going to introduce Hoop family xmas cookies to the UK... but let's not go there... time's moving too fast.

What was the first gig you ever played and what’s been the best so far?

The first gig I played with Sam playing Love Letter For Fire songs was in Bisbee Arizona... in a bar on this crappy stage with a total shit sound system. It was our first time singing these songs for people so it was a little nerve wracking.. Sam had the brilliant idea to put the set list on his phone so everytime he needed to look at it, he'd have to pull it out of his pocket and type in the pin to unlock it and then find the list. I'd never seen that kind of stage craft before.... We've come along since then, 90% of the shows on the US tour were sold out in the states.

We played really great venues...to super lovely audiences. That tour was so delightfully fun! One of my favourites was Dallas Texas... the crowd was really up for it, super lively and just up for a really good time. Lots of laughter in the shows. Many of the people knew the songs and were singing along. Over all the shows were very heart warming, musically satisfying and a whole heap of fun !! The amount of love that we received from the audiences was overwhelming. I feel very fortunate.

Love Letter For Fire is out now via Sub Pop records. Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop play the following dates:

Sunday August 28 - Edinburgh, The Hub, Edinburgh International Festival

Monday August 29 - Bangor, Marine Court Hotel, Open House Festival

Tuesday August 30 - Dublin, Olympia Theatre

Wednesday August 31 - Manchester, Royal Northern College of Music

Thursday September 1 - London, Union Chapel

Saturday September 3 - End of the Road Festival

Sunday September 4 - Birmingham, Moseley Folk Festival

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