60 ............... Friday, December 18, 2015 1SM

Watchvideoofbandat:

thescottishsun.co.uk

NEWMUSICBy JimGellately

LOST IN VANCOUVERWho: Jake Morgan (vocals/guitar), Connor Mckay (gui-tar), Brandon Sherrett (bass/vocals), Tom Lawrence(drums).Where: Kirkcaldy/Edinburgh.For fans of: Stereophonics,Catfish And The Bottlemen,Oasis.Jim says: Lost In Vancouveronly recently released theirfirst couple of singles, buttheir story goes back aroundfive years.

They first got together attheir local YMCA in Kirkcaldy,which runs a thriving youthmusic programme.

Jake told me: “From theage of 13, Brandon, Connorand myself had been gettingguitar and song-writing les-sons from a guy called MarkBurdett. He got us playing inbands around the town.”

Jake and original drummerJames Ballingall were previ-ously in a band called Verte-brae. The pair got togetherwith Connor and Brandon lastyear to form Lost In Vancou-ver. The guys released theirdebut EP at the end of 2014.

With the departure ofJames a few months ago,drummer Tom Lawrence, whoJake had met at college, com-pletes the current line-up.

From the tracks I’ve heard,Lost In Vancouver havestacks of potential. With com-parisons being made toKings Of Leon and early Arc-tic Monkeys, it won’t be long

until they break out of theirlocal scene. Now splitbetween Fife and Edinburgh,they’ve already been makingan impact in the capital. Dun-fermline has also been fruitfulfor the band.

Jake explained: “There is abig metal scene in Kirkcaldybut it’s not so good for indiebands. If you’re an indie bandin Fife, Dunfermline is theplace to be at the moment.”

I like the fact that Lost InVancouver appreciate they’vestill got a lot to learn. They’vesurrounded themselves withpeople that can help takethem to the next level.

Jake said: “Mark Burdett isour very own Mr Miyagi. Hegot a friend of his Eck Burrellto help us get some high-quality recordings. Eck’s sup-port has possibly been one ofthe best things that’s hap-pened to us. As a band we arereally lucky as we have hadthe support and caught theeye of other musicians. Jamiefrom Jamie & Shoony hastaught me how to become amuch better frontman.”

Lost In Vancover play PJMolloys in Dunfermline onJanuary 16 and Edinburgh’sCabaret Voltaire on February27. Their singles Juliet andKate are out now.More: www.facebook.com/lostinvancouverl Jim presents a weeklyshowcase of New Music onAmazing Radio Sundays2-4pm.www.amazingradio.comwww.jimgellatly.com

AURORA

meets

I cried afterseeing JohnLewis advert

TRACKLIST1. Runaway2. Conqueror3. Running With The

Wolves4. Lucky5. Winter Bird6. I Went Too Far7. Through The Eyes

Of A Child8. Warrior9. Murder Song (5,

4, 3, 2, 1)10. Home11. Under The Water12. Black Water Lilies

EXCLUSIVEINTERVIEW

By JACQUI SWIFT

A COFFEE shop inGatwick Airport’sdepartures loungeis not the mostglamorous settingto meet a fast-risingsinger-songwriter.

But when her days arespent dashing back and forthbetween Britain and Bergenin Norway, it’s the only timeto catch up with Aurora.

If you don’t yet recognise thename, you will know the 19-year-old Norwegian’s voice.

She is the singer on the heart-warming John Lewis Christmasadvert — a haunting cover ofOasis’s 1994 B-side Half TheWorld Away.

Interest in Aurora Aksnesbegan two years ago when herpeople were contacted by JohnLewis’ people.

She explains: “In June I waswarming up for Nick Mulvey athis Somerset House shows (inLondon) and, a few weeks later,we got an email asking us to doa calm and emotional version ofHalf The World Away.

“But I had never heard theoriginal before.”

Neither had she seen theadvert at this stage.

Aurora adds: “We heard aboutthe idea but we hadn’t seen thevideo. But when I did see it, itwas so moving I cried when Iwas telling my parents about it.”

‘I used to relate musicto personal pain’

Aurora believes her sparsecover version of the Oasis tracksuits her delicate voice.

She says: “Not knowingthe song helped, as Icould interpret it inmy own way.

“In my versionyou can really hearthe emotion of thelyrics. They aregood words to singand I like to usemy voice as aninstrument.”

In March shewill be morethan just the girlfrom the John Lewisadvert, when she releases herdebut album All My DemonsGreeting Me As A Friend.

Her music is already popular,with debut EP Running WithThe Wolves picking up morethan 30million Spotify streams.

Is she looking forward topeople hearing her own music?

“I am, as I’ve been working sohard to finish my album. Someof the songs are really old — likeRunaway, which I wrote when Iwas 11 or 12.”

Aurora started writing poetryaged nine, moving on to musicafter finding an old piano at herfamily home.

She explains: “I didn’t know Ihad any talent until I started toplay the piano. I’d alwaysenjoyed writing stories alone —as a child I enjoyed being on my

own. I’d entertainmyself just imaginingup stories.”

The first song shewrote, I Had A Dream,was inspired after see-ing a drunk man sleep-ing on the streets. Shesays: “I’m very sensitiveand that’s why a lot ofmy songs are seen asbeing dark.

“My music is also inspired bynature. Running With TheWolves is about freedom andjoining nature again, gettingaway from phones and radio andall the stuff we keep around us.”

The title of All My DemonsGreeting Me As A Friend refersto overcoming negative thoughts.

Aurora says: “It’s about comingto terms with everything that hasbeen stealing your energy whenyou are tired and sad.

“When you accept those thingsyou can finally move on, whichis so important. That is whatsongwriting did for me.”

A self-taught pianist, Aurorasays learning to play changedher outlook on music. She says:“I used to relate music to per-sonal pain, as I’d listen to it

when I was sad — but when Ilearned to play and write itmeant happiness for me. It wasan important thing to learn.”

The youngest of three daugh-ters, Aurora says being awayfrom home is made easier as hersisters Viktoria, 25, a fashiondesigner, and make-up artistMiranda, 28, travel and workwith her.

She says: “I’m really close tomy family and my sisters. We’rebest of friends. We never fightand we are all very calm.

‘Becoming hugelyfamous is not a goal’

“It makes life easier as theyknow what suits me and what Ifeel comfortable in.

“I’m not one of those femalesingers who will wear anything.It has to be right for me.”

Aurora also credits having awise mum for her maturity.

“I don’t hang round with peo-ple my own age much,” she says.

“My mother is very clever andopen. She taught me to discussthings and to be open and thatyou grow a lot if you learn tosee both sides of everything.”

Still only a teenager, writing heralbum has helped Aurora experi-ence other aspects of life.

She says: “I’ve had so manygreat experiences through mysongs. I’ve had to createstories and characters and expe-rience the stories.”

Earlier this year, Aurora heardthat Katy Perry was a fan whenthe US superstar tweeted a linkto the Runaway EP’s lead track.

Katy told her 60million follow-ers that she had finally foundnew music that made her heartflutter. So is Aurora hoping toemulate her world-famous fan’senormous success?

She says: “It’s always nice tohave people appreciate yourmusic. But strange when it’ssomeone as famous as Katy Perry!

“As happy as I am for as manypeople as possible to hear mymusic, becoming hugely famousis not a goal of mine.

“I wouldn’t want to be famousif I had to choose and I wouldnever encourage that side ofthings. As long as I can carry onwith music then I can deal withanything that comes with it.”lAurora’s album All My Demons GreetingMe As A Friend is out on March 11.

1SM Friday, December 18, 2015 ............... 61

TEMPLE Run on a snowboard,down a slope. But so muchmore.The whole world is beautifullycrafted from paper. No mean feat,especially for the never-endinglevel. Watching the backgroundproves mesmeric and the game isevocative and atmospheric. Eachrun is different and the world feelsalive. Beautiful and a lot of fun.

SHRED IT!iOS/Android, free

5

IT’S hard not to love Rayman,the platformer that adaptedbrilliantly to mobile.

This deviates from the normwith collectable elementsleading to in-app purchasesand a lot of messing about. Bythe time the first world is done,you’re turned off.

RAYMANADVENTURESiOS, free

2

APPS

GLOBAL rivals in theworld’s top fightinggame went toe-to-toe as they battledto become StreetFighter champion.

Before a sell-out crowd,and hundreds of thousandsfollowing the action online,32 gamers competed for ashare of £165,000 last week.

And the Capcom Cupwinner received an £80,000(120,000 dollar) cheque.

Street Fighter is one ofthe few gaming big boys tohave its own “scene” in theeSports arena and themovement is big business.Even the likes of Red Bullenter their own team.

Competitors from tencountries travelled to SanFrancisco in the US.

Among the hopefuls wasEngland’s Problem X, akaBenjamin Simon.

The uninitiated could beforgiven for guessing thepro-gamers were racingdrivers, decked in jackets

and T-shirts emblazonedwith the logos of their vari-ous sponsors.

And the response fromthe audience, who paid £25a ticket, was deafening.

At one point, the audito-rium chanted “USA! USA!”as a home favourite steppedup, only to be silenced byhis opponent’s victory.

Before each virtual bout,backstage interviews areplayed on the big screens,with competitors quizzedabout their preparation.

Leading contender Magoused the time for somesmack-talk. He said he hadnot worried about his firstopponent — focusing onwho he would likely meetin the third round.

But it was Japan’s Ryota“Kazunoko” Inoue who won,taking his annual earningsto £95,000. This makes himthe second-highest earningStreet Fighter player, afterrunner-up Daigo Umehara,on £98,000.

AN unusual mix of rhythmic puzzler andcity builder. Your role as mayor is to makepeople of your planet dance, as popularity,buildings and profit are influenced by thenumber of notes you hit.

The game claims to let you play along topopular songs, but I didn’t recognise any.Fear not, it syncs to Apple Music to playyour own. A funny little groover, but itsvery nature limits when you can play.

By LEE PRICE

GROOVE PLANETiOS, free

3

WECHECKOUTTHEACTIONATCAPCOMCUP

It’sall fighton thenight