As a true music fan, there’s nothing more intriguing than being invited to an unsigned gig. Turning up with little more than what you can find out about the acts via the web and various social channels is often better than knowing everything there is to know. And this was certainly true of the Richer Unsigned event at the Westbourne Eagle Labs on Thursday night, where two very cool acts – Amie Knight and The Villanovas – both did what they do best.
Musical collaborations happen every day of the week; some are good and some are awful. But occasionally there’s an understated little sparkler that comes to everyone’s eyebrow-raising attention. So step forward the genius who married the garage revivalists Disclosure and the male vocal darling that is Sam Smith for the smooth and sultry Omen because it’s a true beauty. Continue reading SINGLE REVIEW: Disclosure ft. Sam Smith – Omen
Here they all are: 2015’s Mercury Prize Album of the Year nominees. And on Friday 20 November at 21:30 on BBC Four you’ll be able to see who of the 12 takes this years’ coveted prize.
So who do we have? Some old names and some new ones, but above all, an exciting blend of voices, beats and flows that highlight the year. The perfectly freaky Aphex Twin. The stop and stare wonderment of Benjamin Clementine. The beautiful constructions of C Duncan. The gorgeous, velvet tones of ESKA. The festival saviours Florence + The Machine. The consistently brilliant Gaz Coombes. The word mastery of Ghostpoet. The flawlessly skilled Jamie xx. The talented old guard that is Roisin Murphy. The impeccable naughtiness of Slaves. The quietly outstanding SOAK. And the controlled supremacy of Wolf Alice.
Who would have thought that so much would have been achieved in just 11 months? That all of these artists would find their own set of closed doors to work behind, working a magic that Harry Potter could only dream of? But they have, and Friday’s ceremony is a culmination of this tremendous talent pool. So tune in; it’s definitely not to be missed.
Forgive me for the bluntness of my next statement, but here it is: the phrase ‘difficult second album’ does not apply to Chvrches’ newest release. A bold declaration perhaps? A slightly risky claim maybe? Not at all, and once you listen to Every Open Eye, you’ll see where my sentiments come from. Continue reading ALBUM REVIEW: Chvrches – Every Open Eye
As a music blogger, I get a lot of Twitter notifications from bands plugging their latest creation, be it a single, album or video. I’ll admit that I’ve not heard of some of them, but there are ones I have and today two rather lovely things happened to put a sunny smile on my face; a follow from Cardiff’s certifiably brilliant We’re No Heroes and notification of their brand new track, Voodoo.
whatsuvvosays 