Sunday Rundown: Shooting for Alive, Live Acoustic Sessions and Florida

Photo: Geena Sharma Singh Photography

This week has been half hard work and half holiday, but with many exciting developments!  Both at home and in America I had some amazing weather and took some beautiful photos, which I have included in the blog, along with details on what I’ve been up to!

Monday:  On Monday, me and my awesome videographer (and friend), Geena headed to Flamborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire for our first day of filming the video for my song ‘Alive’.  We got some beautiful shots of the amazing scenery around there and some performance shots.  We got lucky with the weather as it was 26 degrees Celsius and wall to wall sunshine!  So excited to finish filming and share this video!

 

Tuesday:  Tuesday was spent practising piano, packing and generally getting ready to go away!

Wednesday:  On Wednesday I flew to Florida for the start of my two week holiday in America and the Caribbean.  The best part of long haul travel for me is that I have so many uninterrupted hours at my disposal, which I can use to catch up on work!  I managed to respond to three sets of interview questions, write all my notes on the mixes for my upcoming album and read and write notes on my book on music marketing.  Very productive and relaxing times for me!

Thursday:  I had a lovely morning walk to start off the day and then I went to the mall.  I’m ashamed to say that a big shopping spree always makes me feel good, and this was definitely one of best shopping trips I’ve ever had!  So I left feeling very happy, especially after a great Chinese meal!

I also made my Thursday Twenty playlist and it’s even more varied than usual!

1. Boots by Kesha – Definitely my favourite track on Kesha’s new album.. really fun and catchy!
2. Painkiller by Liv Dawson – I really wanted to include this in the playlist last week but I didn’t have room.  It’s such an touching pop song with great sweeping production and really relatable lyrics.
3. Make It Up To You by Julia Michaels – I’m fast becoming a Julia Michaels fan as I think her brand of cool, edgy pop is the future of the genre.  I also really admire her roots as a songwriter.
4. Safe Place by Jazz Morley
5. Borrowed Time by Falcon Punch & Alexanderson
6. Give It Up (feat. Salt Ashes) by Cruels
7. Tennis Shoes by Lennon & Maisy – I always love the soundtrack to Nashville and this my favourite song from the current season!
8. Take Shelter by Years & Years
9. Dead End Love by XYLO
10. Alexis Texas by Cruel Youth
11. You’re Mine by Phantogram – Phantogram have only been on my radar for a few months due to hearing them on a TV show, but I really love their dark vibe and edgy production!
12. Think Before I Talk – Astrid S
13. Madness by Ruelle – I came across Ruelle as one of her songs was used as a reference file for a sync placement I applied for and I really like her music!  It has a slight vibe of Banks, which is something I always enjoy!
14. C O O L (Radio Edit) by Le Youth – The ultimate holiday party song; just so so catchy and happy!
15. What Lovers Do (feat. SZA) by Maroon 5
16. If I’m Lucky by Jason Derulo – Jason Derulo is one of my guilty pleasures and I’ve just bought tickets to see him perform in May so I’m super excited!  This new track is very different but I actually really like it!
17. Girls On Boys by Galantis & ROZES
18. Bad At Love by Halsey
19. Cross My Mind Pt. 2 (feat. Kiiara) by A R I Z O N A 
20. Know U Anymore (feat Sarah Hyland) by Bo Talks – Another that almost made it on last week… great track, super catchy and loving Sarah Hyland’s voice… I usually just know her as Haley from Modern Family.

 

Also, ‘Music, Musings and Such’ did an interview feature on me, which was awesome, so have a read if you are interested in my inspirations, my ambitions and my favourite musicians!

Friday:  On Friday I went for another amazing walk, this time along the boardwalks to the lake, which was so relaxing and pretty!  I took some gorgeous pictures 🙂 After that I spent the day by the pool reading and catching up on emails, as well as submitting songs for sync placement consideration.

Saturday:  After a four hour drive first thing, we made it to Miami around midday to board a cruise bound for the Caribbean!  I didn’t get much work done this day as I was too busy drinking cocktails and dancing at the sail away party!

I did upload a teaser video for the live acoustic session of ‘Lead Me Down’ to my YouTube channel though, which I’m really excited about!  Check it out below!

I was also featured on the ‘Readers Recommend’s ‘Sounds on Sunday’, playlist, which was lovely!

Sunday: The first day at sea on the cruise so I spent the day exploring the ship, drinking more cocktails and having a lovely massage!  Very relaxing times… managed to get some work done too which was nice!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and enjoyed seeing some holiday pictures!  I will no doubt have many more next week!

Autumn 2016: New Directions

Following the release of my first EP, Not Stupid Anymore, in June 2016, I thought it was time for a change in my music.  Since the time that I wrote and recorded that music, I have been through many changes in my life and in myself, which made me feel like this music wasn’t completely true to the person I had become.  So I’m going to give a little insight into the reasons behind my new music and image and, also, what to expect from the new musical offerings!

Recap! Who am I and what do I do?

I’m a 23 year old pop artist from Manchester who has been writing songs since I was 15 and releasing music for the past year.

How would I describe the EPs and singles I have already released?

The singles and the EP, Not Stupid Anymore,  featured the original mixes of the tracks, which were very poppy and girly, along with house, dub house and garage mixes.  The lyrics were all inspired by personal experiences and my emotions, making them very honest and easy to relate to, in my opinion.  There was also a running theme of relationships, love and heartbreak.

 

 

Why the change?

Although I was proud of the music I had created, I felt it wasn’t entirely the right direction for me as an artist.  As the original mixes and the remixes covered so many individual genres, I thought it seemed a little unfocused.  When I wrote the songs for ‘Not Stupid Anymore’ I was in a relationship, that I had been in for four years, so this influenced a lot of my ideas for song concepts.  However, I am now single, so my perspective on a lot of things has changed, and I wanted to put that into my music.  In addition I am a bit older now, so I felt like a more mature sound and image would suit me better and be more true to my personality.

I became very influenced by producers such as Chase and Status, The Chainsmokers and Cheat Codes and wanted to draw some inspiration from the electronic genres those artists were rooted in.  I started working with Division Productions in early summer and immediately the creative juices were flowing.

I then travelled down the East Coast of America for 5 weeks with my best friend, hitting 12 different destinations on the way and visiting 10 states.  Included in our stops were some very musical places such as New York, Nashville, Miami and New Orleans, which gave me a lot of appreciation for different genres, new directions and sounds to include in my songwriting.

 

 

What has stayed the same?

The main reason I write songs is because I like to share my feelings and stories with other people, in the hope they can empathise.  I believe music has the power to unite and inspire when it is truly heartfelt, and this is what I aim to achieve as an artist, so this underlying philosophy remains intact in my material.  The emphasis I put on the vocal line within my compositions is also very similar to my previous work, as is the pop feel to my melodies.

 

 

What to expect from my new music?

The music itself is rooted within the genre of pop, but takes influences on the production side from many other genres, giving it a bit more of an edge.  The focus has been on bringing the other genres I am influenced by, such as tropical house and drum and bass, into the actual pop songs themselves, rather than using remixes as with my previous EPs and singles.  I think this has helped to push my music to a new level and made for a selection of songs that are varied whilst remaining connected by my songwriting style.  The music has quite a commercial feel to it because I have the intention that people will want to sing along and dance to it, however, my lyrics are still heartfelt.  I want people to be able to empathise with the emotion behind my music but also have fun listening to it.

 

 

When to expect a new release…

The first single off the EP I have been working on is called Take It All and will be released on November 17th on all major retailers and available to preorder on iTunes on October 20th.  The music video to Take It All, which was shot at the start of my America trip in New York,  will also premiere on October 20th.  Following that, the EP should hopefully be released around Easter 2017 and the title will be Experiments.  I am currently writing new songs for my debut album and hope to have news on the progress of that very soon!  I shall be performing live as much as possible to promote my new sound, so check out when you can see me next!