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

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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.

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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: Shooting for Alive, Live Acoustic Sessions and Florida

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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!

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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!