Sunday Rundown: Editing, Composing and Partying!

This has been such an unbelievably tiring week!  I’ve had 20 hour edit days and have basically been functioning on zero sleep for 7 days…. However, so much has been achieved this week and I’m so so excited to share some of the developments very soon!  Sign up to my mailing list to get an exclusive preview of my next video!

Monday:  I set my goals for November, which always really helps me to focus on my career and visualise where I want to be.  I then had production class as I always do on Mondays, which was awesome as we were learning different sampling techniques.  I was also starting the plans for some upcoming videos, which is super exciting!

Tuesday: I played golf in the morning and caught up on some college work.  I also sent off some Spotify playlist submissions for my latest release, Take It All.  A lot of my day was spent tidying up the ‘studio’ from the Body of Mine shoot…. glitter for dayssss!

Wednesday:  After starting editing last week, Wednesday was day 2 of the Body of Mine edit, and it was a long one (finished at 3am)!  We made some good progress, getting the Intro, Verses and Pre-Choruses sorted.  I also had my Electronic Music Composition class in the evening, which was really fun as we were learning about drums and groove, which is probably the area I struggle with the most.

Thursday: Day 3 of the edit…. finished all but the choruses, which was a little frustrating as we were hoping to have finished completely!  In the evening I went to my golf presentation evening and won myself a cheeky trophy, which was a nice surprise!

Of course, I also sorted my Thursday Twenty for the week!

1. Burn Slow by Jaira Burns
2. Flare Guns  by Quinn XCII & Chelsea Cutler – LOVE this!  One of my favs this week… super catchy and it is definitely a topic everyone can identity with – the urge to call an ex at 2:00am is always strong!
3. Only With You by Cyn
4. Astronaut by Mansionair
5. I’ll Be There by King Henry
6. When I Was Young by MO – Great track!  I love MO as she’s always so left of centre and really unique.  This song has a really interesting structure and there are so many climaxes!
7. Ready Yet by Sasha Sloan
8. Losing Any Sleep by Elle Watson
9. Silence (Sluggo x Loote Remix) by Mike Posner & Labrinth – Another favourite!  Such a great track… the production is gorgeous and the two voices really work and bring something different to the verses.  I’m really feeling a lot of Mike Posner material these days!
10. I Feel U (feat. Rachel Salvit) 
11. cortado by anton.
12. Honest by Nataliya
13. Wolves by Selena Gomez & Marshmello – I just love Selena and I’m a big Marshmello fan too, so this was a great combo for me!  I really think the softness of Selena’s voice is very effective in this song, and the chorus is extremely catchy!
14. Better by BANKS – I genuinely think no one loves BANKS as much as me!  I went to see her last week and she was predictably amazing.  Better was one of my favourite tracks she did on the night as performance was just flooded with emotion.. it was pretty special to witness!
15. Lonely by NAV
16. California Heaven (Medasin Remix) by JAHKOY & Schoolboy Q
17. end by Jeremy Zucker
18. Buzzin by Alina Baraz
19. Badi Boum (feat. Tsunami) by Felix Snow
20. The Shine by ayokay & Chelsea Cutler

 

Friday:  I spent five hours composing in the MIDI lab at college and working on a new track!  I feel like I spend so much time promoting myself and contacting people for gigs, sending my music off places etc that I never get to actually make music anymore!  So it was just bliss to be back in that mindset and be creative!  After that it was back to editing the Body Of Mine video…. Day 3 and it didn’t end until 7am on Saturday!  Crazy stressful and we still didn’t finish!  We still had to colour grade and fix a couple of bits in the Middle 8.

Saturday:  Final edit day for Body of Mine!  Finally finished at 4:30pm after another four hours of editing and the release that came with the final export was just euphoric…. such a weight of my shoulder!  The video is now ready for the release next week 🙂 Can’t wait to share!

I also celebrated Bonfire Night with my brother and best friend and then heading into town for the Warehouse Project!  Me and Abi saw Gorgon City on their Kingdom Tour at the Albert Hall, along with Disciples, Riton and Danny Howard.  It was such a great night and just what I needed after a stressful week of editing!

Sunday:  Dinner with the family for my grandad’s birthday and a bit of much need chill time!  I need to actually sleep!

Thank you so much for reading as usual and remember to sign up to my mailing list!

 

 

 

Sunday Rundown: Take It All Video Release, Alive Shoot and Gigs!

This week has been a super busy one!  At the moment I have loads of different projects on the go, including the shoot for ‘Alive’, the promotion of the Experiments EP and a collaboration.  This past week has been all about cracking on with all of that, whilst fitting in gigs and rehearsals as usual!  It’s been a bit stressful but there hasn’t really been a dull moment!

Monday:  I started the day with a tennis lesson and then when straight to production class from there.  As I started two weeks late at Manchester MIDI school, I do still feel a little bit out of my depth, so I can see that a lot of extra practise will be in my future!  After college I picked up my friend for a movie night but we didn’t even watch a film… just chatted about life and got super distracted!  I also released the first teaser for the ‘Take It All’ video on Instagram!

Tuesday:  My friend and I headed out on a hike in the morning to get some fresh air and clear our minds!  After that I spent the afternoon rehearsing for a piano performance I had coming up later in the week and the evening was taken up with picking outfits for the ‘Alive’ video shoot.

Wednesday:  My videographer (and friend) Geena and I drove to East Yorkshire, collecting actor, Jack, on the way in order to shoot the music video for ‘Alive’.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t quite as nice as forecasted, however we still got some great footage!  I’m really looking forward to editing this video and I’m sure the extremely long and tiring day will be 100% worth it in the end!  I also premiered the second teaser video for ‘Take It All’ on Instagram, building up to the release on Saturday!

 

Thursday:  On Thursday, I was rehearsing for gigs again in the morning and then I went into Manchester to a great little café and bookshop called Chapter One.  Geena and I met there to discuss the editing of the ‘Alive’ video and to plan all the other videos and shoots we have coming up!  In anticipation of the release of my album, Chemistry, next year we had to set deadline dates for all the live acoustic sessions, official videos and lyric videos needed to promote all the tracks.  It’s going to be a very busy few months, but hopefully worth it in the end!

I also made my Thursday Rundown playlist, which features my absolute favourite artist, Banks, and a few international songs!

1. All Goes Wrong by Chase & Status & Tom Grennan
2. Drown The Lovers (feat. 6LACK) by R I T U A L
3. Bloodsport ’15 by Raleigh Ritchie
4. Monster 2.0 by Jacob Banks & Boogie – My cousin Maddie recommended this to me because she loved the beat… but I’m actually way more impressed with the vocals!  Such a powerful and unique voice that perfectly captures the emotion in the lyrics!
5. Underdog by Banks – I am a complete Banks superfan, so I was both excited and nervous when I saw she’d released a new song, as I didn’t want it to disappoint me!  It hasn’t done, thankfully!  Another great song from my ultimate idol and I can’t wait to see her later this month in Manchester!
6. Hello Hello by Fickle Friends – Fast becoming a firm favourite of mine, every song I hear from Fickle Friends is a winner in my book!
7. September by Gabrielle
8. Human Touch by Betty Who
9. Улети by T-Fest – One of the international songs on this week’s playlist!  T-Fest is a Ukranian rapper (I believe) and I heard this song on a YouTube video and thought it was great!  Улети translates as Fly Away apparently!
10. Loin (Pilule Violette) by Maître Gims, Dany Synthé, SoFLY & Nius – This is a great French track… I particularly love the beat in this one!
11. Takes My Body Higher (feat. Lincoln Jesser) by Shoffy
12. Ignite by RKCB
13. Super Far by LANY
14. Speak in Tongues by machineheart – A favourite of mine this week.  I love the use of drums and the bassline in this song.  It’s got a really cool edgy, vibe and is also super catchy!
15. Holding You by Great Good Fine
16. White Water by MY
17. High Off You by alayna –  This song is a very chilled and subdued by my standards, but I really think it has an understated beauty.  The vocals are effortless and gorgeous and they sit perfectly on top of the bassy but restrained production.
18. 1999 by Bloke & Bird
19. Northern Lights by Jaymes Young
20. Take It All by Sally Caitlin – I thought I’d include my track ‘Take It All’ this week as the video premiered this week on my YouTube channel!  This is my favourite track from the EP and the video is also my favourite, so give it a listen if you haven’t had chance yet!

 

 

Friday:  Rehearsals in the morning on piano, followed by a quick golf lesson and then more rehearsals with my guitarist George.  We then had a gig in the evening at Revolution in Macclesfield for their big reopening party!  I also shared the final teaser video for the ‘Take It All’ video on Instagram.

Saturday:  With one performance out of the way, I just had one more this week and that was for an old work friend’s wedding! I played piano and sang at the ceremony, which was very nerve-wracking but it was a lovely service and luckily I had been rehearsing like a crazy lady!

I finally shared the video to ‘Take It All’ on YouTube!  Check it out and remember to give it a like and comment if you enjoy it!

Sunday:  After such a busy week, Sunday has been about catching up on sleep, on sync applications and looking through the Alive video clips to find the best footage!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes images from this week’s shoot! 🙂

 

Sunday Rundown: Location recce, video editing and practising for live lounges

Another busy week with many projects on the go!  Hopefully they will all start coming together soon and I’ll see some results 🙂

Monday:  I was editing the video for Shackles.  In particular I was colour grading all the clips and starting to have a look at where to put the different clips on the timeline.

Tuesday:  More video editing!  With the help of my friend Geena (who knows much more about Adobe Premiere than I do) we arranged the clips for the first half of the song and added transitions and effects.

Wednesday:  Wednesday was a full day of rehearsals with my guitarist, George, ready for our gig on Saturday and our live lounge videoshoot next week.  For the live lounges, we are preparing loop versions of four of my original tracks, ready to shoot as one take videos on Monday.

This week’s Wednesday Cover was ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster The People.  I absolutely love this song and I love performing it live at gigs, so it was really fun to film our version!  Check it out below!

Thursday:  I ended up playing golf in the pouring rain, which was rather miserable and then going out that night for dinner and drinks with a friend!  Not the most career focused day, but it was good to take a break!

My Thursday Twenty playlist this week was a mixture of happy songs for the sunny days and chilled songs for the rainy days, as the weather has been very variable recently!

1. Back To You by Louis Tomlinson, Bebe Rexha & Digital Farm Animals – I really did not expect to like this song, but I actually do!  It’s a nice, easy to listen to pop track, with a relatable lyrical theme!
2. Remember I Told You (Dave Aude Remix) by Nick Jonas, Anne-Marie & Mike Posner
3. On My Mind (Alex Adair Remix) by Disciples – I love both the original and this more chilled out remix of this song and I also can’t wait to go see Disciples in November!
4. Empty Room (Elderbrook Remix) by Big Wild & Yuna – Such a great summer chillout song, I love listening to it whilst driving!
5. Planez by Jeremih & J. Cole – Completely forgot about this one, but I really like it for when I’m trying to relax!
6. All I Want Is You by Miguel & J. Cole
7. The Other (Eden Prince Remix) by Lauv – The perfect song for when you are by the pool and watching the world go by… definitely a holiday track!
8. Your Song (Cheat Codes Remix) by Rita Ora
9. Crowded Places by Banks – Banks is my artistic idol and her newest track is definitely her most summery and soft… perfect roadtrip song!
10. Say You Love Me (Alex Adair Remix) by Jessie Ware – One of my favourite ever remixes… beautiful.
11. Teenage Fantasy by Jorja Smith
12. We Don’t Talk Anymore (Attom Remix) by Charlie Puth & Selena Gomez
13. The Motion by Drake
14. Wicked Game by Tula – A really great version of one of my favourite songs!  I heard it whilst watching Love Island (don’t judge) and instantly loved the sexy vibe.
15. Get It Together by Drake
16. Alaska by Maggie Rogers – This was a recommendation from my guitarist, George, and I really thing it is a great take on modern pop.
17. Plain Sight by Kita Alexander
18. Creep (V!RTU Edit) by Ember Island
19. Now Or Never (R3hab Remix) by Halsey
20. Lose My Cool (Couros Remix) – Such a great clubby remix with the catchiest hook!

 

Friday:  Despite being super hungover, on Friday I drove to Anglesey with Geena to look for locations to potentially film the video for Alive in.  We are looking for a very specific type of scenery and this was hard to identify on Friday as the rain and wind was just crazy!  It was such a tiring day due to the weather, but I think we did find some potential places to film in the end… so it wasn’t all for nothing!  We have some other recce visits planned around the country though before we make a decision!

Saturday:  More rehearsing followed by a gig in the evening.  It turned out that the YouTuber ‘Syndicate’ was at the gig and a sneaky 10 sec clip of our performance made it into his daily vlog… so that was awesome!

Sunday:  Such an amazing chill day with my bestie, Abi, consisting of face masks, mani-pedis and Beauty and the Beast!  A much needed rest day to round off the week and prepare me for the one ahead!

Thank you so much for reading!