Double Page Spread Continued

Now that the two biggest parts of my double page spread are put into place, I can now start to look at the actual text that will be on the double page spread. In my past research of interviews, noticed that a lot of rock music magazines were set in a more third person narrative way, rather than Q&A interview, as this is more professional and detailed. I particularly liked the text in the Kerrang! My Chemical Romance interview, as it was about their new album, but also included snippets of quotes from the band to make it direct and personal so they could interact with the audience. The story was an exclusive to appeal the audiences need to be the first to know about new music from rock bands. I noticed the font was usually sans serif and white, so it was clear to read and stood out against the black background. For my interview with Ashley, I decided to adopt this exclusive idea and write a short few paragraphs about her new album, along with some quotes from her. I used lexis that would appeal to my target audience, such as "the songs are very deep and technical". " I also finished with the quote "I’m going to change rock forever", as this is also my title for the page, and would link them both together very well. Here is my full interview:

Ashley Bloor has revealed to Volume that her forthcoming album will change the face of rock as we know it, and is a vast change from 2008’s For Those Who Have Heart album. We can exclusively announce that the new album will be titled What Seperates Me From You and feature 18 tracks, along with 2 bonus tracks.

The Manchester solo rock-godess, who has been in the spotlight for over six months, is currently making her 5th studio album. It is scheduled for release next Summer and was created at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California with producer Grace Canning (Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters).

“My overall aim was to create a life-changing album, the kind that goes down in history” says Ashley, who reveals that this album will be the album of her career.

“To create something brilliant is unbelievably pressuring”, she explains. “There were times when I thought about just rushing through the album like I usually do. But I wanted to create 18 amazing songs. I really sat down and thought about this, the songs are very deep and technical, with the help of my brilliant band. This is the one time I’ve really been able to put raw emotions into a song... And I’m glad I did! It’s a great release.”

Volume have spent the whole day in the studio with Ashley, and – lucky us- she has invited us to have an exclusive listen to some of her new tracks. If It Means A Lot To You, You Had Me At Hello, Have Faith In Me and The Downfall Of Us All have to be our favourites, with a raw grunge-like sound that Kurt Cobain himself would be proud of. Ashley’s sound has clearly progressed since her debut album in 2003, And Their Name Was Treason.

“Oh they’re shameless” exclaims Ashley, “That’s what I love about them!”. Her overall sound remains massively popular in the eyes of rock fans, and her lead guitar solos are something we’ve never heard before in the history of music. Her bassist, Lee Wilson brings a solid rhythm to compliment the lead guitar, and her drummer Tom Ogden brings both catchy and impossibly complex beats to the music.

“Even before I won the NME award”, says Ashley (who won the NME best live act award in 2004), “I was writing music that was already much more complex than my first few albums. I’m so glad I saved these tracks for this album, I really developed my fan base with my first basic album, and now my in depth music will hopefully expand it further. There was a huge amount of humour in For Those Who Have Heart, which was so fun to write, but now it’s time to get more serious.”

“And now”, she continues, “There’s still some element of fun in my tracks, but it’s different. I’m trying to really open up to my fans, but still keep it upbeat and something to feel good about. It’s all about keeping that balance of raw emotion and light-heartedness, that's the key to creating a life chaniging album, and I am almost positive that I have done that.”

“I’ve realised that I’ve become a lot bigger than I ever thought I would ever be,” Ashley admits, “And with that comes pressure to be more committed to what I do. To really deliver. To tour as much as possible. To really say thank you to the fans, and show outside listeners who aren't fans just what I can do. It’s took a while to get where I am today, but if I carry on the way I’ve been going so far, I really believe that I’m going to change rock forever.”

I then placed the text onto my page in white regular arial font as this made it clear to read and stood out well from the dark background. I also added a drop capital in the same colour and font as 'ROCK' in my heading to relate to the rest of the page. Here is my double page spread so far: