Artist To Check Out: Kimberly Anne

 

 Inspired by the story-telling qualities of Billie Holiday and Tracy Chapman and the narrative rapping of Lauryn Hill,  Kimberly Anne started out performing poetry nights accompanied by keyboard in South London. She then took a very resourceful turn and began producing live demos and events from her bedroom using drum kits made from £5 Ikea tables and condenser microphones taped to mops.

 

 2013 saw the unsigned, unpublished, independent release of her very well received debut EP 'Bury It There,' which was produced by Julian Simmons (whose credits include Ed Sheeran);  a string of UK shows that saw her share the same stage with the likes of The Rolling Stones, and support mainstream favourites such as Haim, Jake Bugg, and John Newman.

 

Now signed to Polydor Records, Kimberly Anne's new EP 'Hard as Hello' will be released on 24th March and should see her catapult further into the hearts of many new fans. The EP features four introductory tracks, fronted by the title track 'Hard as Hello'  which is described by Kimberly as "a personal battle of self-worth". 

 

Kimberly merges urban and acoustic music to create a genre that has been dubbed as "afro-folk" with her rich vocals, cutting melodies and  heartfelt lyricism. Check out the single 'Hard as Hello' below with its happy hand-claps, warm Caribbean vibe and quirky video that shows Kimberly being 'pampered' or in this instance, being made a mess of, and feed by several other hands of which do not belong to her!

 

 

 

Tour dates

25th March – The Social, London
1st April – XOYO, London (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
3rd April – Think Tanks, Newcastle (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
4th April – King Tuts, Glasgow (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)
5th April – Academy 2, Manchester (w/ Bipolar Sunshine)

 

Pre Order || 'Hard As Hello' EP || iTunes
Kimberly Anne || Website || Facebook || Twitter

 

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Single Review: Charlene Soraia 'The Caging'

 'The Caging'  is the new single to be taken from Charlene Soraia's upcoming album 'Love Is The Law' and follows on from Charlene's optimistic track, 'Stepping Stone' with a completely contrasting sound. Released on iTunes on February 2nd,  and co-written with Jim Eliot, 'The Caging' is a powerful pop track with a deliciously dark trip-hop side, defiant lyricism and and hooky choruses. 

 Depicting the end of a toxic relationship, Charlene says; ‘ ['The Caging'] was written about the feeling of being caged, and the need to escape from that. If I can use music as a healing tool, then that’s a good thing. Check it out below.

Charlene Soraia || Website || Facebook || Twitter

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Free Download: Charlene Soraia - 'Standing Stone'

South London, singer-songwriter, Charlene Soraia may be a name are familiar with but could possibly be scratching your head as to why you know that you know it, but you don't  really know the reason as to why you know it. Her touching vocals, however will most certainly resonate with you on a stronger level, for she is the lady behind the stunning cover of  The Calling's 'Wherever You  Will Go' which featured on the first of  the Twinings animated "Twinings Gets You Back To You" TV adverts.

'Standing Stone' is Charlene's newest single available for free download HERE . Taken from her upcoming album 'Love Is The Law', the song itself is a beauty of a ballad whose lyrics are full of  heart warming hope, expressing the relatable notion that even when times get tough, well - especially when times get tough,  the friendship/relationship/romance between the narrator and the  narratee will still remain strong. It's basically about always having someone to rely on and be strong for you, through thick and thin, and we all need to feel  that  level of loyalty and reassurance sometimes, don't we? Give it a listen below, it's a nice one, that.




Charlene Soraia || Website || Facebook || Twitter

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Gavin James covers Daft Punk - 'Get Lucky' (feat. Pharell Williams)

Gavin James|| Facebook || Twitter Back in May Gavin James recorded a really chilled out, acoustic cover of Daft Punk's - 'Get Lucky' for Secret TV where his vocal performance is just as suave as Pharrell in its own right and Gavin's hitting all those high notes spot on! Give it a listen if you've not already come across it and let us know what you think! We sure feel like we got lucky hearing it. Also, click here for UK support tour and debut EP news from Gavin.

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Artist to Check Out: Daniel James & 'A Lonely Man' Music Video.

Daniel James is s a 23 year old singer from Northern Ireland. Having been based in London cultivating his musical career for the past 2 years, 2013 has already seen Daniel release two songs entitled 'Jackdaw' and 'The Stone And The Hollow' whose piano laden melodies, emotional, invasive vocals and profound lyricism have already caused quite a stir earning him comparisons between the likes of Kodaline and Tom Odell.

Returning with his new track, 'A Lonely Man' Daniel explains what it's all about:

"'A Lonely Man' is based on parallel stories. One part expresses my own struggles with everyday life and another part expresses my imagination of what 'struggling' actually entails. Researching old reference books and documentaries, I focussed on the struggle of the slaves in chain gangs in America in the nineteenth century. I tried to harness old slave/gospel type vocal rhythms in the track to reflect the parallel story. 'A Lonely Man' is a story of one man's battle, both real and imagined.'"

Incredibly catchy, contemplative and captivating the song comes with a video directed by Elena Bechthold and Hans Hertel and follows the solitary wanderings of actor Josia Krug that fits perfectly with the meaning of the song. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open because Daniel James is definitely a name we think you'll be hearing a whole lot more of in the near future.

Daniel James || Facebook || Twitter || Soundcloud

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Video Review: Helene Greenwood - 'In The Sunshine'

Helene Geenwood || Website || Facebook || Twitter

On 23^rd September, charming, London based singer-songwriter Helene Greenwood releases ‘In The Sunshine’ – the first single taken from her upcoming debut album, ‘Collectable You.’

With likenings to  the wonderful Regina Spektor, my original thought was that Helene's music sounds a little like a maturer  and richer version of Gregory and The Hawk.

Newbies, what can you expect from her sound? Well, "The style of my songs reflects an unsettled climate, defying easy categorisation with influences from pop, folk, jazz and contemporary sounds." and let me tell you, it's beautiful!

Written in one day, Helene says  'In The Sunshine' is about "the nature of time. How it can pass gradually as if on a Summer's day and then seem faster as people's lives pass by. I love the contradiction in this."

The accompanying video produced by Helene & North London artist Rebecca Lennon is reflective of this. Shot on Hampstead Heath on a hot lazy day the video has a vibrant, retro, lazy simplicity to it that compliments the song's dreamy aspects.

Representing an intriguing voyeurism  Helene says, "We used lots of old family Polaroid shots to create a strange, dislocated world... We wanted it to feel like you're looking into all these people's lives." The artistic elements to this video are a perfect yet slightly strange fit to a brilliant song.

 It's  refreshing to see a talented artist who can make a video work without over complicating it, trying too hard, or going off on a completely irrelevant tangent and we like the sensory stimulating, thought evoking video, very very much.

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