Introducing The Unsigned Guide Spotlight
Blog by Michelle Lloyd under Artist Managers, Creative & Branding, Finance, Law & Music Business, Live, Media, Music Publishing, Music Training & Careers, Record Labels, Recording & Production, Selling & Distributing Your Music
Welcome to The Unsigned Guide Spotlight, a new monthly feature where The Unsigned Guide team delve into all the tracks uploaded to our SoundCloud dropbox and share our favourites with you. We have been inundated with tracks this month but we managed to narrow it down to 5 which we think you should get your earholes round! So here they are, have a listen and let us know what you think. If you want to be in with a chance of being included in next month’s Spotlight upload your best track and we’ll have a listen!
Changing Horses – ‘Cut All Strings’
Lancashire Indie-Folk duo Changing Horses (Richard Birtill and Francesca Cullen) first met when they were 14 but only started making music together 4 years ago. Ric was invited out to Nashville to record with some session musicians and asked Chezz along for the ride. Whilst out there the producer chose to record all the songs they had been working on together and that’s how the band was cemented. Influences come from the psychedelic likes of The Incredible String Band and the experimental art-punk of The Fall.
‘Cut all Strings’ has since gone on to feature on an HBO documentary and pick up multiple plays on both the Steve Lamacq and Bob Harris radio shows. Last year saw Changing Horses play the likes of Kendal Calling, Solfest, Crawley Folk Festival and SO festival. This year they play the BBC Introducing stage at T In The Park.
We caught up with Chezz to find out what they would consider to be their highlights to date and to find out whether they’ve found The Unsigned Guide helpful in their quest.
“I think getting to record our EP in Nashville was definitely a major highlight. We've also toured in Spain and supported the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Ade Edmondson and Adam Green which were all great moments for us. We're very much looking forward to playing the BBC Introducing Stage at T In The Park this year too.”
“We have a hard copy of the Unsigned Guide and have also subscribed to use it online. It's very handy to have both as it's easy to copy and paste email addresses and click on websites online, plus there’s lots of extra information and tips to help you along the way. It's definitely worth the money and saves a lot of time trawling the internet. We've used most sections from van hiring to contacting festivals/venues to getting advice on the best use of social media.”
Changing Horses’ debut EP ‘The Nashville Sessions’ is available to buy now from their website or iTunes.
The Barnum Meserve - ‘Broken Window’
Nottingham 3 piece The Barnum Meserve, consisting of Leon Wiley (piano/vocals), Dylan Griffiths (bass) and Paul Moss-Pearce (drums) offer a new take on Rock music with their blend of haunting piano and powerful, emotional vocals. Four years on since forming, they’re currently performing at venues across the UK and have proved highly popular with fans and critics alike, having received rave reviews for their new EP, Broken Window, which was released back in February.
Their music has recently been played on both national and local radio stations including Amazing Radio and BBC Radio Nottingham where they appeared on Dean Jackson’s show, The Beat. Having supported The Jezables on their world tour last year, 2012 sees them play Splendour Festival in July, Y Not Festival in August, followed by a show at the legendary Dublin Castle in Camden supporting Zodiac N Black.
Harry David – ‘Lies & Truth (Won’t Back Down)’
Harry David is a singer-songwriter and producer originally from Lincolnshire who plays guitar, piano and drums. Having bought his first guitar at the age of 12, he then went on to study Creative Music Technology at university and spent 3 years writing, recording, producing and performing. His music has been played on several radio stations across the country including BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Humberside and York, as well as Yorkshire Coast Radio and Cardiff FM.
Currently spending his time writing and recording, Harry’s making sure he has the best standard of tracks ready for when the time’s right for his first official release. He is however finding the time to do a little warm up slot for Ellen & The Escapades in August.
Photo credit : Mark Slack
Photo credit : Mark Slack
So let’s hear about his career highlights to date:
“I’d have to say being the support act for my all time teenage guitar hero Dave Mcpherson (from the band InMe) it was a bit of an eye opener for me and broke down a lot of mental barriers/limitations I'd previously set myself. Performing at various festivals including Music Crowns and Staxtonbury to around 3000 people is also up there, along with having the privilege of performing live, having my tracks played on a few different local BBC radio stations and, most recently, having performed on their Introducing stage at SO Festival which was also broadcast live.”
Beck Lanehart – ‘Brooklyn’
Camden based, licensed London Underground busker Beck Lanehart has been writing songs and performing as a singer-songwriter since 2007. Beck has opened for the likes of Gabrielle Aplin, Tristan Mackay, Josh Pyke, Neil Halstead and Lach, playing at a variety of venues along the way including The Slaughtered Lamb, the Troubadour, The Bedford, O2 Academy Islington and Oxford, not to mention The Bitter End in NYC! She also made it to the final of Acoustic Magazine's Singer Songwriter competition in 2010 and more recently one of her tracks has been aired on Tom Robinson’s BBC 6Music show. As an avid user of The Unsigned Guide, Beck tells us how she’s found it useful:
“I’ve used both The Unsigned Guide books, and now the online version too, which is great! I used it to find gig venues before I lived in London and have more recently used it to find Producers to contact as I would love to work with one next time I record.”
The Sum Of – ‘Fake’
Alternative four piece Rock band The Sum Of are Ralf, John, Wez and Paul and hail from Bude in Cornwall. With a sound that scales from melodic to thunderous and a stage energy that can erupt any room, playing live is what they do best. They take their name from the idea that a machine is greater than the sum of its parts; their music is written as a co-operative, meaning that each member gets a chance to explore their influences. After festival appearances at Leopallooza, Relentless Boardmasters and the Quicksilver British Surf Championship in 2010, 2011 saw them pick up a management deal, tour in the UK and Holland, and get into the studio with legendary engineer and producer John Cornfield. This year they will be back at Leopallooza, plus playing The Fleece in Bristol, and even Holland to play De Bosuil in September. Their new release ‘The Fake EP’ will be available for digital download from August 31st.
The lads filled us in on how The Unsigned Guide has helped them along the way:
“We just like to play, and write and play, so luckily our manager ‘Hammy’ looks after the bookings side of things as we are quite laid back. She uses The Unsigned Guide like a bible and carries it around religiously, adding to the weight of her already mighty handbag! We have had some good gigs from the venues listed though, and discovered festivals we didn’t know existed too, so happy days.”
How do I get featured on the Spotlight blog?
Our Spotlight blog is compiled every month from fresh new music submitted to us by our members. We want to hear from you! We select 5 of the best tracks from our members, so if you want to be in the running you’ll need to sign up to The Unsigned Guide then follow the instructions in your Welcome email to submit a track for Spotlight consideration to us. If you’re already a member and still not sure about how to submit your music for Spotlight, just give us a shout via our Contact page & we’ll help you out!
As well as being featured in our new music blog, your track will also be forwarded onto these music industry professionals including folks from Amazing Radio, Big Life Management, Club Fandango, Domino Records, The Fly, Memphis Industries, Rocksound, Skint Publishing, Sony Music, Spotify, Fake DIY, Transgressive Records and The Great Escape. View the full list of who listens to our Spotlight tracks here.
Members of The Unsigned Guide get access to our huge directory of over 8,700 UK music industry contacts. Find out more about the directory and the other services we provide to help emerging bands and artists here.
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