SINGLE Review: 'Mayday' -Lissy Taylor

Lissy is from North West England but draws inspiration from her teenage years spent in Kentucky, USA. 

'Mayday' combines huge guitar riffs with Lissy's haunting, emotive voice. This clearly a personal and introspective song ("Tears blur the lights and cloud my mind").

'Mayday' is understated yet powerful. Lissy has created something beautiful from a difficult time.

“When I wrote Mayday I was fighting an internal war. I felt hopelessly misunderstood
and alone.  I think there is a strength in recognising that everyone has their own struggles that aren’t always visible. Writing Mayday helped me understand my own struggles with mental health and I hope it will help other people in the same way," Lissy tells us.

Her debut EP 'Wild Flowers' is due for release later this year. 

NEWS: AMP London Second Wave Line-Up Announcement

AMP LONDON is a showcase and celebration of music, featuring intimate performances with world class artists, future female headliners and emerging indie talent. 

 The event will run from Wednesday 4th March until Saturday 7th March, bringing the best new talent in music, from a variety of genres, to the capital’s most loved music venues. 

Over four days, AMP London will take over the city with a line-up of the best new acts in music, across twenty-four shows in the capital’s most loved music venues, including Oslo, Camden Assembly, Shacklewell Arms, The Lexington, Lafayette and more. 

 These special live shows will be accompanied by a one-day conference at Camden House on Friday 6th March, which have been carefully curated by Annie Mac herself and will feature discussions around the next generation of music industry figureheads. 

Tickets for this are on sale now! 

 New artists have been added to the line up including special guests Lianne La Havas, The Murder Capital, , Avelino, The Magic Gang and more, including further future female headliners Caroline Polachek and Rachel Chinouriri, as well as exciting newcomers Working Mens Club. 

AMP London is a chance to see world-class artists performing intimate underplays. Caroline Polachek plays St. Pancras Old Church off the back of a sold-out Heaven Show, whilst Avelino returns for an intimate, one off show at The Underworld.

 AMP LONDON MARCH 2020

 Wednesday 4th March
@ MOTH CLUB - LIANNE LA HAVAS, RACHEL CHINOURIRI, TAYO SOUND
@ 100 CLUB - THE MURDER CAPITAL, WORKING MEN’S CLUB, ODD MORRIS
@ ST PANCRAS OLD CHURCH – CAROLINE POLACHEK, JOSEPH LAWRENCE & THE GARDEN
@ OSLO HACKNEY – THE BIG MOON, TALK SHOW, DRUG STORE ROMEOS (SOLD OUT) @ XOYO, SHOREDITCH – MIRAA MAY, BENJIFLOW, AMARIA
@ BETHNAL GREEN WORKING MENS CLUB – ARLO PARKS, COLLARD, LUCY LU (SOLD OUT)

Thursday 5th March
@ UNDERWORLD – AVELINO, KNUCKS, SHAYBO
@ COURTYARD THEATRE – THE MAGIC GANG, DO NOTHING, LAZARUS KANE
@ CAMDEN ASSEMBLY, CAMDEN – SAM TOMKINS, AMA, FINN ASKEW
@ LAFAYETTE, KINGS CROSS – BLOSSOMS, CABBAGE, KATY J PEARSON (SOLD OUT) @ SHACKLEWELL ARMS, DALSTON – MATT MALTESE, JULIA BARDO
@ BUSSEY BUILDING, PECKHAM – LAVA LA RUE, MASTER PEACE, PINTY Friday 6th March @ CAMDEN HOUSE – AMP LONDON CONFERENCE
@ PRINTWORKS – ANNIE MAC + GUESTS
@ OSLO, HACKNEY – JOY CROOKES, TAMERA, BERWYN DU BOIS (SOLD OUT)
@ SEBRIGHT ARMS – THE SNUTS, BADGIRL$, LUCIA & THE BEST BOYS (SOLD OUT)
@ COURTYARD THEATRE, HOXTON – LOLA YOUNG, REMI WOLF, CHARLOTTE Saturday 7th March @ SEBRIGHT ARMS – HAMZAA, TAYLA PARXX
@ THE OLD BLUE LAST, SHOREDITCH – EVERYONE YOU KNOW, NOISY, BOB VYLAN (SOLD OUT)
@ THE LEXINGTON, KING’S CROSS – INHALER, THE NINTH WAVE, WALT DISCO (SOLD OUT)
@ OMEARA, LONDON BRIDGE – BEABADOOBEE, OSCAR LANG (SOLD OUT) 

 Tickets for the newly announced shows will go on sale at 9am on Friday 31st January, available from www.gigsandtours.com and https://www.anniemacpresents.com/london.

NEWS: Annie Mac Presents Conference Speaker Announcement 1

Annie Mac is hosting a day of talks at Camden House on Friday 6th March.

Here are some of the speakers which have been announced:

Amber Davis (Warner Chappell)

Aniefiok Ekpoudom (The Guardian)

Annie Mac ( DJ / Broadcaster)

Ben Mawson (Tap Music)

Ben Mortimer (Polydor Records)

Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets)

Caius Pawson (Young Turks / XL Recordings)

David Joseph (Universal)

Fay Milton (Savages / 180dB / Music Declares Emergency)

Grace Ladoja (Metallic Inc / Homecoming)

Jamie Ahye (Atlantic Records / Pride in Music)

Jodie Harsh (Artist / DJ)

Kwame Kwaten (Point Blank Recordings / Ferocious Management / Cre8ing Vision)

Laura Davidson (All Points East / BST Hyde Park)

Maya Jama (TV / Radio Presenter)

Melvin Benn (Festival Republic)

Rebecca Allen (Decca Records)

Rina Sawayama (Artist)

Summer Marshall (CAA)

Tiffany Calver (DJ / Broadcaster)

Tunde Ogundipe (Music Tech Executive)

Zena White (Partisan Records)

The speakers will be discussing the most pertinent topics affecting the music industry across panel talks and interviews, keynotes, debates and workshops.

“This music industry of ours is changing rapidly, artists are taking control of their careers. The independent path has proven viable and streaming has democratised the consumption process, making commercial success up for grabs to anyone who wants to give it a go. It’s a really exciting time.

There are still, however, huge sticking points for me; the conservatism when it comes to gender representation; the lack of diversity through the top tiers of the industry; the lack of systematic procedure to protect artists when it comes to mental health; and the urgent need for action on the industry’s contribution to the environmental crisis. Come and join us, there is still much to discuss!”

- Annie Mac

Tickets are on sale now, available from www.gigsandtours.com and https://www.anniemacpresents.com/london.

SINGLE Review: 'This Is The Place' -Tom Grennan

Tom Grennan has returned with epic comeback single 'This Is The Place' (yay!). It's his first release since his hugely successful 2018 debut album 'Lighting Matches'. 

'This Is The Place' tells of heartbreak and wanting to escape ("And I can't break the cycle of you in my mind"). It's a soaring track with a memorable chorus. Tom's ever-mighty vocals shine in the track. 

'This Is The Place' was debuted as the 'Hottest Record In The World' on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show last week. Tom says: “This song is about finding a place of complete calm and escaping utter chaos and carnage. My happy place, my go to place! Whether it’s on my own or with the person I love. The song documents the kind of journey I go on to get there, and one that I would make any time of the day to reach a serene and cleansing state of mind.”

I'm pretty sure the track was co-written with Bastille's Dan Smith (talk about a dream collaboration!). I've heard them both talk about working together in radio interviews so it will be exciting to see what they've been working on.

The video for 'This Is The Place' was filmed in South Africa and features beautiful scenes. 

Tom has also announced an intimate show at London’s Bush Hall this February 19th for BRITs Week with War Child, marking his first live performance of the new decade.

Tom is currently working on his highly anticipated second album.

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Interview: Kudu Blue

I spoke to the Brighton group about playing Glastonbury and their upcoming EP.

Q: Hi, how are you?
K.B.: Good thanks. COLD. But good. Feeling positive vibes.

Q: Can you please tell me how you started as a band?
K.B: The four of us came together about 5 years ago now in 2015, as a production collective. Brighton is just a big melting pot of music and arts, and the three lads in Kudu had been making music around Brighton for quite a few years beforehand. Clem (vocals/production) moved down to Brighton from Birmingham and met Tom (bass/production) on the first day that she came down.

Q: Can you tell me about your latest single, 'AYWM'? What inspired it?
K.B.: 'Are You With Me?' is track rooted in a few different styles of dance music. It sort of has a drum and bass sensibility but is at a Garage/2 step tempo. Yeah it's really a celebration of UK dance and it sums up a lot of what we try to achieve with our production. The lyrics focus on meeting someone and trying to work out if they're with you in the early stages of your relationship. If they get you. If they're on your side. 

Q: Who are your musical influences?
K.B: Massive Attack, Bonobo, Four Tet, MJ Cole, Hot Chip to name a few.

Q: Do you all have similar tastes in music?
K.B.: It varies a fair bit but we have similar sensibilities. Owen (Synths/ Production) is into electronic and ambient stuff, Creeda (Drums) much more into hip hop. Tom's background is in Dub/Reggae but is now listening to a lot of Indian classical music, and Clem comes from a more UK garage and 90's dance background. But yeah when we come together we think the styles complement each other.

Q: What is the most exciting thing that's happened to your so far, as a band?
K.B.: Most probably playing on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury last year. That was great. Though supporting Tennyson on their European tour was also amazing

Q: Who would you love to collaborate with?
K.B.: A vocalist like Moses Sumney/ A producer like Four Tet/ a pioneer like Nile Rodgers.

Q: What's next for you?
K.B.: Our second EP 'Healthy' is coming out in the coming months, and we're thinking about a debut album.

They’re playing the Neighbourhood Presents show. Tickets can be bought here: https://www.gigsandtours.com/event/neighbourhood-presents/the-camden-assembly/1464018

Live Review: CHILDCARE @ Scala, London - 17.12.19

CHILDCARE are a band that have captured my heart (not to sound soppy or anything) and they were also one of the first bands I wrote about on this blog (Playdates review). 

Fresh off their Sabi tour, they played their biggest ever headline show at London's Scala- and there was no way I was going to miss it!

I recently spoke to them here.

There was an excellent turn out at the 1,145 capacity venue and support came from Mealtime.

The first 100 people to enter the venue were also given special CHILDCARE masks.

One of the best live bands out there, they played an energetic set. They played the hypnotic 'Omega Grey'. Bass player Emma also took to centre stage and sang lead vocals on 'Bamboo', to many cheers from the crowd. 'Big Man' was also played, as well as favourite 'Film Club'.

During the set, we were encouraged to greet fellow gig goers with the mantra 'May personal glory be with you' which was a lovely touch. 

They then returned for an encore, having changed into grey jogger outfits, for 'Sugarcane'. Lead singer Ed found himself singing on top of a speaker stack. They also had back up dancers to help with the chimes. 

The entire night was loads of fun, as you can always expect from a CHILDCARE gig. Most importantly, they sounded amazing! 

There are plans for another tour in the upcoming months and I personally can't wait!