The second entrant in Twang Factor 4 is Aisha Khan, who is part of a group called Grace under Fire, a rootin’ tootin’ cowpunk trio from London.
Aisha Khan, Matt Radford, and Mal Barclay, veterans of the London blues and roots scene, are discovering a mutual love of classic country, everything from the pop melodies of Hank Williams, Wanda Jackson, and Buddy Holly to the darker musings of Johnny Cash and Eddie Noack.
Grace Under Fire comprises Aisha Khan on vocals, Matt Radford on double bass, and Mal Barclay on guitar. Think of a feminist Johnny Cash, with nods to Wanda Jackson, Buddy Holly and Eddie Noack. Vintage country and rockabilly reinvented for the modern world, with catchy melodies, powerful grooves and raw, honest lyrics. Theirs are songs of survival, loss, love and righteous anger. Of raw truth born from life experience.
The spark that was lit in a South London pub some years before bursts into creative flames. Soulful vocals, intertwining harmonies, tight, powerful arrangements, and catchy melodies. A sound as honest and electric as anything produced in the 1950s, but with a modern relevance and sensibilities. They have been playing various kinds of authentic roots music for decades. Khan is the main songwriter, and this is an original song of hers called ‘Never Love a Cowboy’, filmed live in a Victorian railway arch in Bermondsey a couple of months ago.
