My annual blog post
21/12/2022Sorry to once again neglect you blog fans... I'll try and condense the year. If you helped fund the album, please see my update that I posted over on Indiegogo for the details on how that is going: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-debut-album-from-ailsa-and-the-seahorses--2/x/27661985#/updates/1 The year began with training and preparation. I learnt German, then promptly forgot it. I trained to run a half marathon whilst also preparing with the band to record an album. In Springtime I visited my hometown of Edinburgh and played a lovely concert with animated horses leaping across my guitar. In Berlin summer we headed into Famous Gold Watch Studios and recorded an album... It took a while but Bob was a legend and it turned out pretty fuckin cool. It's now in the mixing stage. In autumn I decided it was important to get a music video made for Hermit. This turned into quite the journey of self discovery. We shot over two days in October with a small team, I was wearing a cloak, I danced with my shadow and one of the locations looked like Mars. We felt very close to nature by the end. Another highlight of the year was a love story that unfolded in Norway. An instant connection and magical synchronicities... we stopped following the script of relationships and social interactions given to us by society, everything dissolved and we were able to be our authentic selves. We called upon the blessing of Odin and I was baptised in the freezing waters of a magical lake. Towards the end of the year, being in Berlin was making me crazy and I ran away. I first passed through Prague then Budapest, before going on a month long journey through Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. There were cute concerts, cute dogs and cute people. Delicious food, mountains, ghosts, pirates... And now I am in Scotland... I hope I figure out a way to survive next year and be free in the way I make my art. Thank you to my small but loyal fans/friends who were always there! Happy solstice, happy xmas, and happy new year when it comes. Ailsa
Happy new year <3
17/01/2022I'm a bit late, but I would like to wish you all a happy new year. A little update from myself and the band: Although we did not make the ambitious 7,000 euro goal for the album crowdfunder, we did get a fair chunk of it! We are sitting somewhere close to 5,000 I think, which is pretty amazing and means we are able to go ahead with the project. Some of the costs will come later on, so we still have time to get some money together for that. So a massive thanks to those who made this possible. Now we begin the process of fulfilling the crowdfunding perks... Some of these will happen around the time of the release (will keep you posted!), and some of these will happen now. I think this week Nuri will perform his fabled whip dance for one very lucky lady. As for me, it's a very busy time. Why I decided to undertake an intensive German course (it's bloody intense) whilst also training for a half marathon, whilst also trying to record an album, I will never know. There should also be an album coming out this year with the other separate musical project I am part of, it's very dark stuff, miles away from the Seahorses. Right now, I would really love to write some new songs, it's been so long. And although I feel trapped here, I am loving Berlin and the artists/people here who have inspired me. Here's to a successful year.
Band dayz and debut album funding!
06/11/2021Once again I forgot I have a blog. And so much has happened since my last post. Me and the band are now a couple of weeks into our crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for Ailsa and the Seahorses’ debut album! It is quite a nerve-wracking process, doing a crowdfunder like this, and very difficult to keep the momentum up. I hope that if you are in a position to do so and would like to support independent music, you can consider being a part of this campaign and making a donation/spreading the word. These songs have been following me around and are very close to my heart. They helped me heal and I hope they can do the same for others. Whether we make our funding goal or not, we will be grateful for the donations we have and do the best we can with what we got. The story behind the album? Well, back when I made The Centre of Everything EP I was in some weird depression - I felt like I was asleep for a year and a half. At some point I rose to the surface and finally woke up again. Things started to change for me and I guess that’s when I started doing my music quite seriously. In the process of changing my life I did leave a relationship behind and went into this new chapter feeling a lot of uncertainty and insecurity, but also excitement and hope. It’s never an easy road and I was kind of walking through the mist blindly, feeling unsure of myself as I found the way again and healed. Now, when I look back on any painful times, I feel gratitude for these experiences and the process of growth I went through; everything seems like a gift now, the good and the bad. And who are the band?? I met Nuri on Tinder, we became friends, he came round to my house and drank a whole bottle of port wine himself and now we play in a band together. And then Marcel, an old friend of Nuri’s from acting school, joined the band. I always feel a hilarious energy when we are all together and sometimes I can’t sing in rehearsals because I am laughing for no particular reason at all. And we are also getting a drummer on board for the project soon! In the coming weeks there will be live videos surfacing and a livestream concert, all as a band. So stay tuned for the details on that. I will also be unveiling the T-shirt design very soon - one of the perks available on the crowd funder! We tried to make this campaign as fun as possible and it has gotten a bit weird in places, but that’s just how we are. I truly hope some people go for our less conventional perks such as Nuri’s LED whip dance, the dinner date with Marcel or a tarot reading with myself. We also came up with the ridiculous and stupid idea of getting stickers printed with the QR code to the campaign page, simply having a picture of us with the text “Only Fans”. Prepare to see us on the back of every toilet door in Berlin ;) We have Tinder profiles for the campaign and everything… Doing all we can really, but it is very hard. Very grateful to those who have supported us so far and I hope we can keep it coming :) You can join the campaign here: https://igg.me/at/ailsa-and-the-seahorses/x/27661985#/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rMRhcMNyrs&t=3s Thanks and much love, Ailsa
What a time to be alive
28/12/2020I have been completely shite at updating this blog... What a mental time to be alive. The year is up, and although the world is kind of in a strange way right now, for me personally it was an amazing year. Coming to Berlin was a risk, but was the best decision I could ever have made. It took a while but now I can see everything falling into place. And it turns out that the most important people I've found here, I actually met within the first week or two of arriving. I just didn’t realise it at the time. So this year I had a lot of alone time, enjoyed the dreamy Berlin summer, managed to get coronavirus, played the Berlin streets, released a new song and video and worked on some stuff as part of a new musical project. Releasing That Old Moon and editing together the video for it felt like everything coming full circle for me – the video is basically the journey of the last year and a half for me, one which ended with finding happiness in this mad city. Right now I have been going crazy in my room for days, just stuck in the weird void between Christmas and New Year where nobody knows what life is anymore. I’ve been painting on my walls and for the first time in about 4 years actually properly listening to music again. Probably sounds weird coming from a musician, but I didn’t really listen to music to relax in my own time. Until recently, I just back into it suddenly. In my mind I am wandering the sunny streets of Portugal or somewhere else warm. But I know that sadly this dream won’t be a reality for a while longer. I can’t wait for when touring is once again possible so I can drift off and have some more adventures and do some more soul searching. I guess in the meantime I will have to just spend my time continuing to build up a solid home base. I don’t believe that 2021 is necessarily going to be better than 2020 in terms of the pandemic. Some people seem to think that covid will vanish once this year is up, I’ve just accepted it’s gonna be shit for some time. I also sometimes feel like the apocalypse is really looming, like some real shit will go down and then there will just be a few of us left alive and I’ll be fighting for survival, fleeing into the forest on a Lime scooter. Hope everyone had some good times this year despite the state of the world, and as always thank you to all those who follow my work - your ongoing support means a lot to me. Wishing you a happy new year when it comes... Ailsa xxx
An Update - Corona Dayz
09/04/2020My first three months in Berlin have been different than I ever imagined. It has been a struggle - trying to live as an artist and trying to navigate bureaucracy. And I don't have too many friends here, but there have been some magical moments playing music on the street, running from BVG ticket controllers, falafel parties, and nights out gone too far. So just when I was beginning to get my shit together, shit got real with Coronavirus and I was forced into taking a break. Whilst the situation itself is bad, I am kind of having the time of my life here. I am now focusing on making new music. I also plan on coming out of isolation looking like a tank. During this time I cannot earn money as an artist the ways I usually would. But you can support me by tuning into my FB livestream every Friday (6PM German time) where I will have my virtual tip jar open, or if you like, my EP is always available to buy on Bandcamp. I do really hope I can return to the streets during the summer time and hopefully tour again in the not too distant future. But I guess it's out of our control. Best wishes to everyone out there. Ailsa
Willkommen!
22/01/2020Welcome to my swanky new website. Here you can keep up to date with all Seahorse news, events and life updates. I have been quiet for a while as there has been a lot going on. So here's what's been happening. At the end of last year I had a pretty sensational adventure in Berlin before returning home to take a break over Christmas. For the first time in years I actually enjoyed Christmas, but overall Scotland was feeling like a pretty miserable place to be. Maybe it was Winter, maybe it was Brexit, dunno. But anyway, on New Years Eve I decided I needed to leave immediately and return to Berlin... this time to live. So a few days later I was on a bus (4 buses actually) for two days with just my guitar and amp and not enough clothes. It all sounds very romantic but honestly I smelt so bad when I arrived. Also, sitting for hours wondering when the next service stop is gonna be so you can pish not in the bus toilet - not romantic. I left Scotland quite suddenly and didn't really get to say bye to a lot of people which is a bit of a shame. But with Brexit looming, I wanted to get settled quickly. I found somewhere to live in Berlin the day I arrived .... The universe provides ;) So now I am living with two absolute legends, eating potatoes every day (we have too many potatoes in this flat), learning German, watching weirdos on the U-bahn and having many daily adventures. I guess this is the end of the first incarnation of my Seahorse bandmates, but I'm sure we will play again sometime in the future and I will find new bandmates here in Berlin. I think I am finally almost finished working through the mountain of bureaucracy I was faced with and am now looking forward to the year ahead. This year I hope to finish material for my debut album. It sure is a magical place here, although my only criticism is that salt and vinegar crisps are not so common, which is disappointing. I have been having some very intense dreams and my flatmates even had the same dream but from different perspectives. Tripppy. So welcome to my website, take a look around. Thanks again for supporting my music.Thanks to everyone who has helped me get settled here. And thanks to the people who have sent me some very nice fan mail recently :) Stay tuned, happy new year. Ailsa