Archive for February, 2010
RnB star Shola Ama confirmed for the Judging Panel for Live and Unsigned Festival
Feb 24th
RnB mega star Shola Ama has just confirmed her place on the judging panel at the Live and Unsigned Festival!
Billed as one of Britain’s most successful RnB artists, Shola will be taking her place on the judging panel in July and casting her eye over some of the UK’s best unsigned talent. The London based singers debut album Much Love sold over one million copies and she enjoyed chart success with the top five singles You Might Need Somebody and You’re The One I Love.
The culmination of her critical and commercial success resulted in four MOBO nominations with Shola going on to collect two awards for Best Newcomer and Best RnB. She also impressed the industry and her fans when she was nominated for two Brit awards, taking home the title of Best British Female.
Amongst her many achievements within the music industry, Shola has collaborated on the Glamma Kid single Taboo, reworking the Sade classic to make it her own and scoring her another top ten single. She released her sophomore album, the critically acclaimed In Return, co-writing 11 of the 16 tracks with a host of international writers and producers. She’s worked with legendary names like Darkchild, Babyface, Stargate, Ali Shaheed Muhhammed, Angie Stone and Shaun Labelle. Her single Imagine remixed by Asylum, went on to become one of the biggest club singles of the noughties. Shola co-wrote her third album, Supersonic, which is one of her most personal works to date. Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live and Unsigned, commented, It’s very exciting to have one of the UK’s best RnB acts involved in the competition. She’s had huge chart success, spent years in the studio and knows exactly what it’s like to be in the spotlight. I’m confident that her appearance on the judging panel will be popular! I’m sure most of the acts in the Urban category of the competition will want to ask her lots of questions!
Shola is now back in the studio once again, writing tracks for her fourth studio album, due for release on independent label Dirty Canvas. The new single DJ Play has already received great reviews and lots of airplay! And of course, watch out for her at the Live and Unsigned Festival!
Main Man Of BBC Introducing Vic Galloway Joins Live and Unsigned
Feb 16th
The main man of BBC Introducing in Scotland, Vic Galloway, is set to join the Live and Unsigned 2010 judging panel.
With an extensive background in music and a thirst for unsigned, fresh acts in the UK, Vic’s knowledge and experience is sure to be a hit on the panel!
Currently fronting the BBC Introducing show in Scotland, Vic is obsessed with unsigned and established musicians. He was launched into the world of music after he witnessed his first live concert by The Damned, and as his obsession grew so did his record collection!
Vic began his career as a musician himself. He immersed himself in Rock ‘n’ Roll when he left school and set out to form a band, get into recording and perform music. And to prove his dedication, he busked his way around Europe for 6 months.
Vic moved onto to working on the other side of the industry, writing for fanzines, working as a venue lighting director in Edinburgh, helping to set up and develop independent labels and working as a press and radio promoter. It was when he was prompted to make a tape for his new regional Radio 1 show that he moved onto the airwaves.
Hayley Stovold, Press Officer for Live and Unsigned commented, “It’s fantastic news that Vic’s joining us for the 2010 live shows, he’s a very influential name. He’s already so busy with the station and his packed out events! He’ll be joining a few other famous names from the world of unsigned music, so we’re sure lots of bands will want to ask him lots of questions about the industry! And let’s face it; he’s always after new bands so some bands might even get played on his show!”
Nowadays, Vic fronts the Introducing show in Scotland and also writes and produces his own music – he’s currently working with prog-pop pioneers Deaf Mutes and punk band Family Man. You’ll also find Vic co-running a club night at the Glasgow Barfly every Friday, called the Funhouse. He’s been pulling in crowds of over 400 people for the last three years. He also spends a lot of time DJ’ing in clubs and writing a freelance column for The List magazine.
Vic lives in Edinburgh , likes getting tattooed, eats spicy food and wants World peace…
For more information on Live and Unsigned please visit http://www.rocklinks.co.uk/music-competitions/live-and-unsigned-2010-the-largest-national-music-competition-for-band-singers-and-musicians
My Endeavour back with new sound and a new Single titled “The Fallen”
Feb 16th
My Endeavour are back with a new sound and NEW single ‘The Fallen’ – Released digitally worldwide today !
The Fallen is a powerful and emotive hard rock track written for all those that have died fighting for our freedom. Hand picked to be played on Florida’s KRRadio and the BFBN Network this single is starting to generate some serious buzz.
“We’re impressed. Seriously. This is probably one of the best submissions we have had in a long ass time”.
– DJ Killer, KRRadio
“This rock track demonstrates how to squeeze a ton of epic sincerity into a short but brilliant single.4/5″
– Steve, The Mag
“My Endeavour instil the weighty feel of post-grunge rock in ‘The Fallen’ – and the lyrics are equally deep in this massive track.. Throughout the song things build up very gradually, eventually hitting a storming instrumental with a solo that contributes to the sober and emotive feel of the track.”.
Purchase the song today from itunes, amazon mp3 & more !
For more information please visit, www.myendeavour.com
An entertaining and hilarious interview with Zeeb?
Feb 13th
How did the Band first get together?
We were trying to form a band with 17 bassists, one drummer and a lad called Roki on violin, along came the first practice and the only people to turn up were me (Andrew), Dom (drummer) and bassist Graham, who had just bought a guitar for shits, giggles and posing opportunities. We wrote Intergalactic Sulk and Trust No One, talked about boobs and chose a name, ZEEB? was born. By the next morning we had a website and no plan to take the musical morning after pill to save us from the previous night’s musical conception.
What makes you different to other Bands?
We’re unrestricted by genre, pressure, shame or personal hygiene.
Do you think there is enough opportunities for Bands to get noticed?
He who makes the loudest noise, will indeed get the recognition he so richly deserves. Or in our case, we just bung our stuff on MySpace.
What are your views on the current Music scene?
We prefer the raisin music scene, a far superior dried fruit. We’re not fans of the winkle-picker identikit bands that look like they’ve all self spawned in some sort of soggy biscuit circle jerk that ends with them giving each other mad haircuts with jizz drenched scissors.
Do you prefer buying CD’s to Downloads? Explain why
We all still like the artwork you get with CDs but don’t see any harm in downloading tracks first to try them. After all you wouldn’t marry without checking the goods would you, unless it’s like in that film ‘The Crying Game’.
How did you get your first booking for a gig?
Unlike other bands we don’t sit around writing songs about feelings waiting for promoters to beat down our door, we put on gigs ourselves, and after this promoters did start booking us.
Do you have a favorite Unsigned Band?
The term ‘unsigned’ is utterly irrelevant to us, record deals are obstacles to everything creative. When it costs so little to get your stuff online why bother giving 95% of your profits to the schmoozy shareholders of EMI? For bands why not try www.myspace.com, I hear it’s the new mp3.com
Do you use social networking to promote your Band? Do you find i effective?
Social Networking has opened up a world of opportunities, but we’re not foolish enough to ignore offline methods though, word of mouth is important – one recommendation from a drunk bloke in a pub is worth more than a thousand hits on a website.
Do you agree with TV shows such as X-factor?
It’s licenced degradation; in the early stages viewers revel in failure, it’s like being a cheering crowd member at the execution of a lamb in a neon slaughter house (but it is fucken funny). It’s sad that people outside the music scene think shows like Pop Idiot and Next-Factor embody music, and are a reliable gauge of musical quality. How many times have we heard people we know say “oh we’ll see you on x-factor” when they find out about our band, and each time we die a little on the inside. People making that assumption is like losing your virginity then having a nun compare it to sexual interference with large knitting needles. Nuns are known for having dirty habits.
How would you change the UK Music Industry?
People that profit from music without any talent of their own should be punished in the same way as rouge traders.
Where do you see your Music in 12 months time?
Where it is now, on itunes, MySpace Music and Amazon MP3. Musically I think we’re going to do a PROPER metal EP, using 80s television as a motif.
To summarise you should probably buy our album and further fund our research into dark unspeakable things that will improve your lives – www.zeeb.co.uk
More Zeeb?
The Magpies Nest grabs BBC Folk Club of 2010 Award
Feb 12th
BBC FOLK CLUB of 2010 WINNERS ‘The Magpie’s Nest’ has grown from the enormous success of being simply a monthly night at the Old Queen’s Head pub on Essex Road into a collective of promoters and enthusiasts of folk, world and traditional music. The question is: how could we not? After nearly four years in the running, the original founders of the club, Joe Buirski and Sam Lee, have discovered such a wealth of talented musicians and bands to work with, and have been comforted by a resurgent interest in traditional music amongst the public, in the media, and within the music industry as a whole, that expansion was inevitable.
“The Magpie’s Nest” now represents an umbrella organisation determined to continue to promote quality new, traditional and roots music at various venues across London and at Festivals up and down the country. The Magpie’s Nest has grown and blossomed into an ever expanding collective, with new nights, new ideas, new music, and new venues across the capital – all reflecting and representing the diverse and divergent styles of music we care to label “folk”.
The two primary strands in the development of The Magpie’s Nest are labeled Two For Joy and Folklahoma! Both promise to bring you new and exciting events at both familiar and new venues, and both promise to remain true to the founding mantra of the Magpie’s Nest: “New Folk, Old Folk and No Folk” – in other words, in providing a platform for the entire spectrum of the ‘folk’ music genre: from veteran performers and purveyors of the tradition through to those influenced by traditional material and creating solely new music. The difference? Two new teams, two new sets of eyes and ears, and a doubling of the capacity of The Magpie’s Nest Collective to bring you exciting events and outstanding live music.
For more information on the Magpies Nest visit themagpiesnest.co.uk
Interview with Hold Your Fire
Feb 11th
How did the Band first get together?
James: I contacted Reed through Facebook after seeing a video of Reed drumming along to a Wilhelm Scream song. I then spoke to Chris and Pallot who had been in bands with me previously and Dan was recruited through Facebook some months later.
What makes you different to other Bands?
James: I think that in a lot of ways most bands are quite similar in the sense that after a while you all become best friends, almost like brothers. I think we’re different from a lot of other bands because we have such a passion for playing live, even if the crowd are unresponsive at first it wont stop us from giving it our all.
Dan: Plus i’ve never seen another band try and fail so many times at trying to swing a guitar around their head!
Do you think there are enough opportunities for Bands to get noticed?
James: I think our main issue is the fact that we live in the Channel Islands; if we were to live on the mainland I have no doubt that there would be plenty of opportunities and chances to get noticed.
What are your views on the current Music scene?
James: I’m still having trouble finding time to listen to the bands I’ve got on iTunes let alone find new bands, so I would say that the music scene is doing pretty well! The music scene in Jersey is really being pushed by the active bands that are trying to gig regularly, but with such a small audience it’s difficult to maintain a large crowd if the gigs are too frequent.
Dan: So if anyone out there wants to get us over to the mainland, wink wink nudge nudge!
Do you prefer buying CD’s to Downloads? Explain why
James: Only because I’m a minimalist, I prefer downloads. I use to have a huge CD collection but after moving house a couple of times it got a little bit annoying! I think that as long as the band get the recognition they deserve and the money to keep them going then there’s no reason why we can’t get rid of CDs and keep moving on.
Dan: I’ve probably got to agree. Although it still feels nice to get a CD every now and then. When you download music you have the choice of just getting the songs you like, when you buy a CD album you’ll sometimes find a track you hadn’t heard of that you love!
How did you get your first booking for a gig?
James: Our first gig was through La Motte Street Studios where we practise. A summer festival was advertised so we submitted a recording and got on the bill.
Do you have a favourite Unsigned Band?
Dan: I don’t really have a favourite unsigned band. I love scouting around MySpace trying to find them. If no one listened to unsigned bands then they’d never get anywhere! I hope people listen to us! haha.
Do you use social networking to promote your Band? Do you find it effective?
Dan: we have been labelled “social marketing wh*res” on several occasions! we tend to put everything we are doing in the band in at least one site, whether it be twitter, facebook or myspace. We’re getting into other forms of band network like bandfortheday.com as well. It is a bit of a catch 22, some people love getting all the updates, some people hate it! I’m sure a couple of people have removed us from their friends lists since the band got together.
Do you agree with TV shows such as X-factor?
Dan: Hmmm, tricky one. I agree that they should be there for entertainment value, the auditions and that are hilarious. I don’t like that the final is always right before Christmas so they try to get the Christmas number 1 though. You could have someone who’s been bringing out great stuff all year then this programme launches someone in to pinch this number 1 out of nowhere. I think that’s where all the issues with last year cropped up, was so happy to see RATM nab it!
How would you change the UK Music Industry?
I think i’d wish that record labels had “minor labels” created underneath them, which were looked after by trainee producers/agents etc. This would let them look after the upcoming bands, and then move up with them through the ranks etc.
Where do you see your Music in 12 months time?
Dan: I’d love to be famous, I’m sure anyone in a band would! I’d honestly like to see us getting the chance to play a big festival and get a real crowd. We love being on stage and having the crowd to justify jumping around like idiots would just be insane!
For more information on Hold Your Fire, vist Holdyourfire.co.uk
BBC Star Bethan Elfyn confirms her spot on the Live and Unsigned Judging Panel
Feb 10th
The main voice behind BBC Introducing Wales Bethan Elfyn has confirmed her place on this years Judging panel for the national Music Competition Live and Unsigned. From a small town in Wales, Bethans interest in Music and Media led her straight to a successful career. Starting of at spiller records she also got involved with student radio, writing for college newspapers and went on to study journalism. This was followed up by landing a production job at the BBC in North wales and later on secured a producer position for a late night radio session, Bethan was then approached to present Radio 1’s new Nations show, kicking off the rock ‘4real’.
Bethan went on to present on Thursday nights with Huw Stephens and now fronts the BBC Introducing in Wales show every Wednesday. She has DJ-ed and presented onstage at many festivals including Wakestock, The Greenman Festival and Radio 1’s stage at Carling’s Reading Festival. Behind the scenes she DJs with the Vinyl Vendettas, manages a band, runs a record label, edits an independent magazine, produces documentaries and programmes for Radio 1 and Radio 1 Wales.
Hayley Stovold, Press Officer for Live and Unsigned, commented, “Bethan’s experience with unsigned music is invaluable to the judging panel. She’s worked with unsigned bands from all over the country, listens to hundreds of demos every week and as the main voice of BBC Introducing Wales, I’m confident Bethan will be a well known and respected opinion on the panel. We’re really excited to have her involved in the competition!”
