The Unsigned Guide Spotlight Re-visited - Part 2
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
As you may have seen, last week we caught up with a few of the acts who have featured on the Spotlight blog over the last 6 months and as promised here’s another instalment. We caught up with Unsigned Guide favourites Ed Zealous, The Barnum Meserve, Beck Lanehart, Changing Horses and Mowbird to see what they’ve been up to since we last spoke…..
Ed Zealous
The lively Belfast four-piece have been pretty busy since we featured them way back in August with their track ‘Diamonds For Eyes’. Not only have they ventured across the Irish Sea but they’ve also graced the stage with another of Belfast’s exports Two Door Cinema Club in a triumphant homecoming gig.
We had a little chat with lead singer Steve to find out all the details…
So Steve, last time we spoke you had just finished recording your debut album and were locked away mastering it, is it all finished now?
Yep! 10 tracks, fully bangin. We wanted to do a weird pop dance record that sounded like a band but with the under-pinning of house production, and fortunately Eliot James came on board to make that sound happen. You can do a lot with a home studio set-up these days and we tracked a lot of stuff in our practice space but shifting most of our album budget toward mixing was definitely the best decision we made. Saying that, we couldn't have done the drums and bass without Rocky at Start Together Studios in Belfast.
As well as some dates in Northern Ireland, you’ve also ventured across the water for London gigs...
We didn't have a van at the time and because it was just a few shows we somehow managed to shoehorn ourselves and all the gear into one car. Not the most luxurious tour though it beats the time we did Belfast to Glastonbury entirely on public transport, equipment in tow. But yes, the London shows were really well received and hopefully in the near future we'll be returning with the addition of more dates further north.
And there was the small matter of supporting Two Door Cinema Club last week wasn’t there? How did that come about? And more importantly how did it go?
Yes, fantastic. The show had sold out in under 5 minutes so we knew there was going to be a good energy. They approached us at the start of the year and asked if we'd like to open for them on their Belfast date and needless to say we didn't have to check the diary. Their fans are perhaps a lot closer to our own in terms of musical taste than many other supports we've done so it was a great opportunity to really test a lot of the album out live.
As a local band at the top of their game, did they give you any advice?
Not quite although they did give us carte blanche on their rather bountiful rider. They were kind enough to catch our set and after the show they talked about the possibility of getting us back out to do some more shows so hopefully we can make that happen.
Not a bad way to start 2013! What have you got planned for the rest of the year? Any single releases coming up?
Yup! We'll be putting out our first proper release sometime before Easter but unfortunately we can't say too much other than we're pretty darn excited. Until then you can still get our album teaser 'Diamonds For Eyes' along with the accompanying Remix EP for free from our Bandcamp. More news to follow!
The Barnum MeserveNottingham 3 piece The Barnum Meserve, consisting of Leon Wiley (piano/vocals), Dylan Griffiths (bass) and Paul Moss-Pearce (drums) formed part of our July selection and here’s what manager Chris Underwood had to say about that they’ve been up to since:
“After a fantastic 2012 The Barnum Meserve are upping their game. They are just finishing writing their debut album, which they will start recording at the end of February, and it really is sounding epic!
The response they had after they were featured in the Unsigned Guide’s spotlight article has been phenomenal, and I know they’ve picked up new fans from this, as well as gaining further support from their hardcore fans.
We’ve just released a video of them where they were filmed at all their shows and festival performances last year. The featured track was recorded live at Splendour Festival, and will be recorded in the studio for their album.
As for the future, I’m excited! There’s a real buzz surrounding The Barnum Meserve within the industry, and there’ll be some big announcements coming over the next few months.”
Have a look at their video now.
Beck Lanehart
Have a look at their video now.
Beck Lanehart
Camden based, licensed London Underground busker Beck Lanehart had been writing songs and performing as a singer-songwriter since 2007 and featured on our first Spotlight back in July.
Here’s what she had to say about that she’s been up to:
“I’m working on a couple of tracks with the lovely and brilliant Producer, Kevin Porée of Berry Street Studio in London at the moment, and we're hoping to release something soon. Kevin has got some amazingly talented musicians to add their magic to my songs which is so exciting. I can't explain how amazing it feels to listen to brilliant musicians playing on songs that I wrote, it's a real dream come true. I'm still spending several hours a week underground busking in Tube Stations, it's excellent practice and I even write new stuff down there too; it's a great way to play new stuff in front of people without any pressure. I plan to get some above ground gigs in the diary when the new song is released too!”
Mowbird
North Wales surf-punk quartet Mowbird wowed us back in September with their self-confessed brand of scrappy slacker pop and have since been wowing the rest of you. Ben from the band gets us up to date on their recent highlights below;
“Since being featured in last September's The Unsigned Guide, we have self released a new EP (available from our Bandcamp), survived (just) a cross-country tour with our bestest buds Furrow, had a total blast playing at Swn Festival, set up a record label Coastal Wizards, made a zine and got played on Huw Stephens' show. In the future? Release a split 7" with buddies Sex Hands on Popty Ring, record that elusory debut album and continue that quest for the new and unimagined.”
Changing Horses
Lancashire Indie-Folk duo Changing Horses (Richard Birtill and Francesca Cullen) whose rather infectious little track ‘Cut All Strings’ was one of the first to feature on the Spotlight are currently concerning themselves with that unenviable task of finding funding for their new record. However with a wealth of new material under their belts, they’ve been releasing new tracks every week on YouTube in the ‘Saturday Sessions’. Check out the first 3 tracks here: Parking Space 1, El Popo and The Interview
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the unsigned guide spotlight, unsigned bands, unsigned artists, new music blog, music industry, spectral park, ali ingle, georgie mason, harry david, clockwork radio, listing ships, joseph grand
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