Sienna Bentley

They say the olfactory senses are the strongest when it comes to memory. Indeed, mine are powerful – whenever I smell warm rain on the concrete it propels me right back onto the street I lived in when I was nine years old.

I would argue that music has the same – if not, stronger – effect, on me anyway. There are many songs that, when I hear them especially after a while, immediately transport me back to where I was when it was on repeat. I associate certain songs with formative periods of my life. It was hard to narrow it down, but we got there in the end.

‘Breathe Fire‘ – FM

FM will forever be my favourite band of all time, because of the impact it has had on my life and the personal connection that we have with them. After all, if it wasn’t for them, it’s unlikely that I would even exist.

When my mum was in her 20s, she worked at a recording studio in London. Many, many bands recorded there, including FM. My mum became very close with them during her time there. FM’s producer, Andy, is my dad’s cousin. It was at an FM album launch party that my parents met – and alas, here I am.

My mum and my uncle Paul – who also worked with FM and married my mum’s sister – often reminisce about their time at the studio and I love listening to their stories and how everyone in my family became connected through that experience.

It’s probably unsurprising therefore that my mum had a selection of various FM CDs on rotation in the car. I love all of their songs, but ‘Breathe Fire’ is my ultimate favourite. It’s the epitome of 80s rock. It’s just amazing. I loved it when I was two years old, and I love it now.

I was too young then to understand the song’s message, but I love that, too. It’s all about trying to save a world that’s quickly going… well, to shit. Fitting, really.

‘Make Me Wanna Die‘ – The Pretty Reckless

When I hear this track, it takes me straight back to 2010, to my garden of the house my mum and I lived in in West Marden – AKA the ‘cold house’. We would sit outside (in the summer), with the song playing on YouTube. I would be collect flowers to try and make dubious potions with, while my mum would sit with a glass of wine. The vibe of the song is jarringly at odds with that cottage-core image…

I’d say this song was the anthem of my preteen years.

Taylor Momsen’s voice is just achingly beautiful – her tone is so unique and sounds very mature (even though she was only 17 at the time!).

My uncle managed to grab a Pretty Reckless hoodie for me around this time and I wore it probably every single day for about three years until I lost it when I was 14. I’m genuinely not over it.

‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You‘ – Ed Sheeran

Specifically, the 13-minute Live Room version. I don’t listen to Ed Sheeran these days, but I was a huge fan back in 2011. Huge. It was this song that inspired me to pick up a guitar and start writing songs of my own. ‘Grade 8’, ‘Give Me Love’ and ‘Lately’ were my go-to covers, though. Sometimes all together; I loved a good mash-up.

By this time, only one year after ‘Make Me Wanna Die’, we were living in Portsmouth. I remember just feeling quite confused at this time of my life, for various reasons. Learning the guitar allowed me to focus my energy on something different. Music started to become a proper outlet for me at this time, which it has continued to be to this day.

I just thought that this song was genius – lyrically and musically – and I still do. I could sing (rap?) every single word of the 13-minute version. His talent with the loop pedal blew me away. I was so impressed with the way one man was able to just turn himself basically into an entire band and his stage presence was just immense.

I went to see him live at the O2 when I was 13 and I cried. I named my guitars because he named his guitars. I even had an Ed Sheeran phone case. It was next level.

Although I’ve moved on from this…obsession (for lack of a better term), I feel that it’s important to acknowledge the influence that Ed Sheeran and this song had on me growing up – this track characterised the majority of my teens and played a big part in why I make music of my own today.

‘F.E.A.R‘ – Ian Brown

Someone who was once very important to me introduced me to this track, which is conflicting for me. It’s painful to listen to the song as I can’t play it without thinking of this person who is no longer in my life, but the song is just so good. So mostly, I’m grateful to them for showing it to me.

All of the lyrics spell out the word ‘fear’. I think there’s a risk of that being very poorly done in other cases, but in my opinion, Brown executes this expertly. This track is a masterclass in songwriting. It’s pretty simple lyrically and musically, really, yet at the same time it’s deeply profound and moving. Fantastic song.

Honourable mentions:

• ‘Photograph’ – Def Leppard
• ‘Bad Luck’ – FM
• ‘The Captain’ – Biffy Clyro
• ‘Taro’ – alt-J
• ‘Sway’ – The Kooks