Industry news & advice blog



Holly Henderson - ‘The Planes’

On the verge of unleashing her long-awaited second album, singer songwriter Holly Henderson has a great deal to look forward to in 2023. ‘The Walls’, which was recorded in a farmhouse in the English countryside, will be unveiled in February and, we’re told, shows a more organic and introspective side to her music and songwriting, which Holly herself has a charming way of describing;

“I always find myself referring to textiles when I’m producing/arranging my solo stuff in the studio. It’s always a ‘bed’ there’s always fluffiness, velvet, silk, etc. So I’d say my sound is like a heavily embroidered quilt! It’s soft, and thick, but heavy, but safe and warm, with a place to hide, all that stuff.”

Her latest single ‘The Planes’ is an enchantingly nostalgic folk-pop treasure, adorned with Holly’s dreamy, lilting vocals; “I wrote The Planes while I was at home. I’d been staring out of the window, watching the planes go by, probably from Gatwick Airport, taking people to a new, exciting place. And there I was, still, in the place I’d always been. It’s a reminder that the fears holding me in my place weren't real. And I can open the door and leave them behind at any time.”

As for the rest of the year ahead, Holly plans to play some gigs and showcase her new material with the original band who played on the album. She’ll also be making an appearance at SXSW in Texas in March, and there’s talk of releasing ‘The Walls’ on vinyl too, plus further music in the works with some exciting collaborations lined up. We can’t wait to hear more.

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Parker - ‘Superhero’

Wielding their own brand of supercharged, melodic punk rock, Derry band Parker have made big strides, despite only being together for just over a year. Borne out of COVID lockdown frustrations, singer and guitarist Dylan started writing songs in his bedroom, before joining forces with Michael Brown (drums) and Eoghan Donegan (bass) to get the Parker project off the ground.

Last autumn the trio undertook a sizable tour of the UK & Ireland, opened for some of their most admired bands including New Pagans, Wonk Unit, Cherym, and Fighting With Wire, as well as acquiring a raft of support, both at home and abroad, from The Sunday Life, Across The Line, BBC Radio Ulster / BBC Radio Foyle, Chord Blossom, Ireland Live, Bring The Noise UK, Punktuation Magazine, The Punk Site, Maximum Volume, The AU Review, Chordblossom, Dig With It and Scene Point Blank.

After spending some time at Badlands Studios with producer Cahir O’Doherty ((New Pagans, Fighting With Wire, Jetplane Landing) and engineer Allan McGreevy (New Pagans, The Rupture Dogs), the Parker sound started to take shape.

Already cemented as a firm live favourite with their fans, ‘Superhero’ is a hi-energy, boisterous, feel-good punk anthem, and singer/guitarist Dylan expands on the song’s beginnings:

“The track is inspired very much by 2000’s emo/pop punk break up songs, and that’s what it is - a break up song, though a fictional one. I wrote it over lockdown when I was working on the album in my bedroom, that’s where the majority of our songs came about. I wasn’t really leaving the house very much and I wasn’t really having any new experiences, so most of the lyrical content is either reflective and nostalgic, about what’s going on in my own head, or occasionally a fictional story, which Superhero is.”

So can 2023 top the past stellar 12 months on the Parker rollercoaster? With big plans for touring, and some thrilling new music that they’re busy honing behind the scenes, we’re pretty sure it has the potential to be their best year yet!

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Bastien - ‘Green Garden’

The self-described “alternative indie band who are suckers for 70s songwriting and 80s production techniques”, London four-piece Bastien are committed to writing ‘interesting pop’, and it doesn’t come more interesting than their jaunty, jangly, curious and catchy single ‘Green Garden’.

The first single to be taken from their debut EP (due out on 16th February), the song came together with relative ease. Forming in London just one week prior to the UK’s first lockdown, the band are familiar with concocting music remotely, and have quickly locked into a groove now that they’re able to write together IRL.

“The chord progression for Green Garden came tumbling out in a couple of hours one day last Summer. I was playing around with some Chris Cohen-style chord shapes and found something I could latch onto. I took it to the guys and it all came together very quickly, which is always a good sign. The alternating lines of each verse have quite distinct emotions attached to them I think, so the lyrics became a kind of outer face vs. inner monologue line-by-line type thing. The song is a sort of meditation on social anxiety; how you can be excited for something and dread it simultaneously. How the best laid plans can 'oft go awry' to quote Robert Burns.”

Bastien’s two previously released DIY singles in 2022, 'Empty House' and 'Black-Eyed Dog', have picked up some complimentary reviews, and the band are also on the inside track when it comes to live gigs; selling out headline shows across the capital.

This brilliant form on the live front looks set to continue with Bastien’s EP release party, taking place at The Sebright Arms on 16th February. As well as the exhilarating unveiling of EP ‘Stroud Green Stoop’, the band aim to work on music videos and further DIY releases in 2023.

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Y Dail - ‘Whizz Kids’

The latest addition to the esteemed Libertino Records camp is the remarkable Y Dail, the musical project of 19 year old Huw Griffiths from Pontypridd, South Wales. Armed with a mischievous imagination, some retro instruments, and plenty of talent, Huw has been captivating all those who have laid ears on his warm, quirky and beguiling sounds. Or as he prefers to describe his musical musings; “Gerard Manley Hopkins meets The Monkees.”

‘Whizz Kids’ has already piqued the attention of BBC 6 Music’s Mark Riley, God is in the TV Zine, and other notable tastemakers, and Huw reveals how the song came to life;

“I wrote and recorded the track in a couple of days on an old Casio keyboard and a 4 track machine. I liked the limitations this imposed on the writing and recording. The song’s a bit doo-wop, I suppose. I’d been listening to Brian Wilson and the latest Aldous Harding record, which is maybe where the falsetto stuff comes from. I read an interview with Paddy McAloon where he said he wanted to sound like Picasso on JX3P synth, so I suppose ‘Whizz Kids’ is me trying to be Brian Wilson on a Casiotone.”



With more releases on the agenda through Libertino, including an album, we can also look forward to some Y Dail gigs in 2023, plus a performance at Laugharne Festival in March, so keep an eye out over the coming months.

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Fran Lusty - ‘Kiss Me Sober’

Crafting stunning indie folk music that is minimalistic and raw with a focus on a strong melody line and lyrical content, London singer songwriter Fran Lusty has made quite an impact with her single ‘Kiss Me Sober’. The delicate strumming of a guitar is accompanied by her warm and mellow vocals to create a bittersweet and heartfelt story of unrequited love. Drawing inspiration from her biggest musical influence, Damien Rice, and literary writer, Virginia Woolf, Fran describes the meaning behind the song:

“‘Kiss Me Sober’ explores the twists and turns of a relationship that only comes about after a night of drinking. The protagonist begs for intimacy yet receives little comfort from the other person in the morning when they are both sober. I wrote it in high school when I kept falling in love with this one person when drunk but had nothing to say the next day when we were sober. I wrote this song to try and understand what I was feeling.”

2022 saw Fran hit the London live music circuit hard with a range of fantastic gigs at Folklore Hoxton, Piano Smithfield, Pizza Live Express, The Water Rats and Paper Dress Vintage, plus a couple of Sofar Sounds shows. The reviews and airplay have started mounting with praise being heaped from the likes of Chalkpit Records, Existential Magazine, It’s All Indie, PopFad Blog, Tongue Tied Magazine, York Calling, and many more.

Although Fran has taken to the stage solo for the past year, this year she will be joined by a 5 piece band which will hopefully act as a springboard for some bigger shows and festival slots. Her first headline gig of 2023 will be at The Troubadour on 3rd February. The coming months should also see the arrival of Fran’s debut EP, which will include her singles ‘Kiss Me Sober’ and ‘Flight of Your Mind’, so be sure to be on high alert for this awaited release.

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