Industry news & advice blog

Youth Sector - ‘Self Exile’

Bouncing back onto the scene with their energetic brand of art rock, Brighton 5 piece Youth Sector bring us something fresh and tasty to get stuck into, since they first unveiled their debut EP ‘Mundanity’ in 2020. Dripping in vibrant melody, and bristling with urgent guitars and frisky drums, the high octane ‘Self Exile’ is bound to summon the spectacular levels of radio support that their previous releases have enjoyed, with airplay across BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Apple Music 1, Amazing Radio, Radio X and many more regional and specialist stations. They’ve also chalked up a number of glowing print and online reviews from the likes of So Young, DORK, The Line Of Best Fit, Gigwise, DIY and more.

Drawing inspiration from early new wave bands like DEVO and XTC, with an added injection of funk courtesy of bass player James’ personal soft spot for the genre, the band manage to bring a buoyancy to the most bleak of topics, “Self Exile is about feeling self-destructive, cutting your nose to spite your face, and wanting to push yourself away from those around you as punishment. The lyric “That should do it this time” is written in the mindset of thinking you’ve finally hit someone’s final nerve.”

Youth Sector are on the verge of wrapping up an extensive UK tour, with just one more date left, headlining The Victoria in London on 12th November. The band also embarked on their first international performance a couple of weeks ago at Left Of The Dial Festival in Rotterdam which proved to be a stand out moment in their career to date, “The crowd was incredible and the venue was full to capacity. It just couldn’t have gone much better. That’s definitely a highlight that we’ll struggle to top for a while.”

With an abundance of new material that they’ve been working on almost ready to go, we can look forward to another single before 2021 is out, and hopefully many more beyond that.

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Walt’s Frozen Head - ‘Low Hum’

Channelling everyone from The Flaming Lips, Talking Heads and Gary Numan to MGMT and Cardiacs, Walt’s Frozen Head creates a heady concoction of art rock and progressive pop, resulting in some satisfyingly chaotic sounds. Or to hand the ‘labelling’ duties over to Alfie Enzo, the mastermind behind WFH; “A place where artistry/experimentation meets daft. We were once described as Blur falling down the stairs on drugs and proto punks on acid.”

‘Low Hum’ is the third single to be taken from current EP ‘Bon Yeti Bon’, and although sonically it is fuzzy, zany and eccentric, Alfie tells us this is likely their most serious song, “I was really pissed off about a situation where someone was abusing power to manipulate me. My cries of "Inveigh" (to speak or write about something with great hostility) seemed very suitable for the subject matter .Musically I was really influenced by the David Lynch album The Big Dream. I wanted to invoke the feeling of the last gasps of a drowning man so I attempted to sing underwater...it kind of worked.”



Yet to take to the stage, it will be intriguing to see what the Walt’s Frozen Head live extravaganza will entail, but we shouldn’t have to wait too long as their first shows are lined up for February 2022. Look out for them at 360 Club in Leeds on 18th February and London’s Dublin Castle on 19th February. A new single and video are expected to drop around the same time, to loop in with the gigs. And as for the bigger picture, a concept album is currently in the works and will hopefully be unveiled by next summer. Now that really will be worth waiting for!

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VIEUX - ‘Spectrophobia’

Beginning life as an audio-visual art project, vocalist/visual artist Bridget Coderc and electronic musician Lee Roberts came together to form VIEUX via a mutual interest in outdated technology, dance music and abstract art. Their sound is constantly evolving and can encompass a broad range of genres, “We take elements of 60s psychedelic rock and blend it with dance music genres like techno, trance and a bit of industrial. Our sound varies from track to track. We enjoy making relaxing psychedelic tunes as much as we enjoy making in your face techno music.”

The duo’s latest single ‘Spectrophobia’ is relentless, dirty and dark, and definitely would not be out of place blasting out of the sound system in a grimy warehouse club. “It is definitely one of our most aggressive tracks. It was made during a period of frustration, filled with personal and creative problems. We used this song as a stress reliever. The word Spectrophobia means the fear of mirrors and one's own reflections. The idea for the lyrics came about from recurring nightmares Bridget had as a child.”


Creating and recording their debut EP ‘31DEC1999’ was a defining moment for VIEUX, which the pair managed to do whilst living in a chaotic 9 person house share in the middle of lockdown. Currently working on rehearsing for gigs, which we are assured will incorporate a large visual element, Bridget and Lee aim to be ready to unleash their unique sound and live shows upon us in the New Year. It looks like 2022 could already be shaping up to be an exhilarating one!

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Dan Bettridge - ‘who am i?’
Dan Bettridge is not short of admirers. His distinctive blend of authentic and soulful indie folk and Americana has struck a chord with music fans and industry supporters alike, which has seen the singer songwriter garner national radio airplay, including playing sessions twice at Maida Vale Studios for BBC Introducing, and being crowned Bob Harris’ ‘Favourite New Artist’.

Crafting stunning songs from his rural cabin studio, a perfect location to hole up during the midst of a pandemic, Dan unveiled his eagerly awaited EP ‘Good People. Bad Habits.’ in early 2021, and hasn’t looked back since.

His latest single ‘who am i?’ is a reflective song; the unassuming melody drifts simply and soothingly, permeated by Dan’s grainy yet tender vocals. And on the meaning of the song, he tells us; “'who am i?' is about an attempt to understand who you're becoming as you grow. Is pessimism as a result of the world or are you just taking things too seriously? And when it all gets too much, remedying that with dreaming about being 17 again. I guess in a nutshell it is a healthy questioning of a quarter life crisis with a happy outcome.”
 
Having previously played some pretty distinguished gigs - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire for two nights with Band Of Horses, Green Man Festival, SXSW, to name a few - he has just returned from a UK tour, and has some more high-calibre performances lined up over the coming months. Preparations are already in place for performances at Future Echoes in Sweden and AmericanaFestUK, and Dan will make his return to SXSW in March 2022 to fly the flag for the UK music scene. We know he’ll do us proud!

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Katy Alex - ‘Maliblues’
Conjuring up pop bangers with a dash of “whatever I feel like throwing in on the day”, singer songwriter Katy Alex, alongside her producer Alex Quinn, have struck upon a winning recipe with their songs already proving a bonafide hit with Spotify (New Music Friday), Apple Music, BBC Radio 1 (Danny Howard), The Line of Best Fit, Kiss FM, Capital, BBC Introducing Merseyside and more besides.

‘Maliblues’ sits at the electro end of the pop spectrum, and considering the inspiration for the song came to Katy whilst holidaying in California, it has a sleek, glistening sound which perfectly reflects its origin.

“Just before COVID hit, I ended up in a mansion in Malibu having a BBQ (weirdest and most random thing that’s probably happened in my life). Whilst everyone was completely taken in by the luxury and sunset, I just felt empty inside. It got me thinking about how the fancy things in life don’t matter if you can’t be with the people you love.”

It stands to reason then that Katy is keen to stay true to her Liverpudlian roots. Signing a publishing deal with Black Rock/Sentric Music was a high point for her, affirming goals on many levels; “I’ve always said I want my music circle to be one big Scouse family so signing with them was an easy decision to make and felt like a big step in the right direction.”

Katy will be blowing up her hometown with a gig on 18th November in Kazimier Stockroom, supporting Molly Green, with plenty of fresh new material on the setlist. Before 2021 is out, she will be busy with writing sessions in London, and putting the final pieces in place for her EP, due to be released early next year.

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