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!

Sunday Rundown: Wimbledon, London and Gigging

This week has definitely been one to remember!  I’ve fulfilled my life-long dream of going to Wimbledon, had my first gig with my new guitarist, George, and redone the mixing on Alive to get back to the point I was at before I lost my pen drive!

Monday:  I started the day off by going to the driving range and then I went into college to find the latest version of the Alive project on the studio computer and see how far behind I had put myself!  It actually wasn’t as bad as I had feared as the project on the computer had all the vocals imported into it and some of the mixing had been started.  I did a little bit of mixing and bounced the track, ready to listen and make notes at home.

Tuesday:  Again, I started the day off at the range and then I had a day of rehearsals with George ready for our gig on Friday.  We were finalising the set list and making sure we had our loop arrangements sorted for each song, especially my original songs (Take It All and Lead Me Down).

Wednesday:  On Wednesday I played tennis and then went back into college to do a second mix on Alive, using the notes I had written at home.  I think this mix is now pretty much right, with just a few minor alterations needed… finally!  I’m hoping next week I’ll be mastering the track and sorting out my backing tracks for when I want to perform the track.

For my Wednesday Cover, I teamed up with the lovely Sophie Smith to cover Drake’s ‘Passionfruit’.  I had a lot of fun doing this track with her and it was great to be able to harmonise together!  Check it out:

Thursday:  This week’s Thursday Twenty is summer themed as I’m getting super excited for my holidays coming up!

1. We Start Fires by Little Giants 
2. Cold Ain’t For Me by Oceans – This song perfectly sums up how I feel every time I come home to rainy Manchester after being somewhere amazing and sunny.  Perfect pick me up song!
3. New Rules by Dua Lipa
4. The Heat (I Wanna Dance With Somebody) by Ralph Felix – Great summer revamp of Whitney’s Classic!  Makes me feel like going and dancing on a beach somewhere.
5. P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing) by John Gibbons
6. Wicked by mansionz – I love this track!  It’s so funky and infectious!
7. Pretty Girl (Cheat Codes X CADE Remix) by Maggie Lindemann
8. There For You by Martin Garrix feat. TROYE SIVAN
9. Fall At Your Feet by Lucy Neville
10. The Nights by Avicii
11. Heaven Is A Halfpipe (If I Die) by OPM – This is one of my guilty pleasures!  I used to be obsessed with this song when I was younger and it always puts me in such an amazing mood.
12. Steal My Sunshine by Len – I think this is my ultimate summer sing-a-long song!  Another guilty pleasure… but such a great one!
13. Giving It All (Joe Goddard Remix) by Bondax – For me this is an example of when the remix actually surpasses the original.  I’ve always loved this track and in summer it just gets me in the mood to escape and party for a few days!
14. My Head Is A Jungle (Extended Vocal Mix) by Wanklemut – This is just the best summer nights song and reminds me of so many amazing times in clubs with my best friend… this mix is my favourite as the guitar is just so nice to listen to and it builds so well.
15. I Like Me Better by Lauv
16. 2AM (Matoma Remix) by Astrid S – This is one of my favourite summery songs because it has such an island feel to it.. such an amazing remix!
17. Deja Vu by Sally Caitlin – I thought I would throw Deja Vu on this playlist as it’s the most summery song on my EP and the video is going to premiere soon!
18. Call Me (White Gold Caviar Remix) by NEIKED
19. 212 by Azealia Banks
20. West Coast (ZHU Remix) by Lana Del Rey – There are sooo many great remixes of this song and this is one of my favourites as it’s just so bassy and has such an edgy vibe.

On Thursday I also played in a golf competition.  Looks like my visits to the driving range paid off because I actually won my division and got myself a little trophy!

 

Friday:  On Friday I had a gig at Platform One in Romiley with my guitarist.  We spent the day rehearsing and that was definitely worth it as we didn’t make any mistakes and the gig went super smoothly!  It was definitely a good start to our partnership and I’m very excited to gig again together next week!

Saturday: I went down to London to visit my brother and do a little sightseeing!  We went to the Darwin Brasserie in the Sky Garden for their brunch buffet and some cocktails.  The view from the 35th floor was amazing and we could see the Shard, London Bridge and loads of other sights!  After that we did some intense window shopping in Harrods and Knightsbridge!

Sunday:  I am a huge tennis fan and on Sunday I got to finally go to Wimbledon after years of being desperate to get there!  We started the day with an amazing brunch in Chelsea and then jumped on the tube to head to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.  It was a really great experience and the place was even more magical than I imagined it would be!  My brother’s friend works at Wimbledon so gave us a tour of the broadcast centre, which was awesome as we saw the press conference room.  It was a pity that Marin Cilic was injured for the final, meaning the match wasn’t as competitive as it could have been, but it was great to be on Henman Hill/Murray Mound when Federer won his 8th Wimbledon title!  I was a massive keeno and bought myself a Wimbledon sweatshirt and tennis skirt along with a huge strawberries and cream sundae and lots of Pimms! For the doubles final we got resale tickets for Centre Court, so got to see Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis win the mixed doubles final!  All in all it was a great day, and the only thing that could have improved it would have been Rafa being there!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed all the pictures!

Sunday Rundown: Collaborations, Imperial War Museum and Interview Features

This week has been full of ups and downs!  I had a great gig, a really lovely interview feature and met the lovely Sophie Smith for some YouTube collaborations….. but I lost my USB stick with the project files for my track Alive on it!  That was a massive disappointment and has put me many steps back in finishing the track!

Monday:  Most of my day was taken up with rehearsals, both with my guitarist, George, and the band I play with, Inhale!  Whilst I really enjoyed the rehearsals, I was very glad to stop singing after 8 hours!

Tuesday: I wasn’t actually feeling well at all on Tuesday and was worried I was losing my voice, so I took it very easy!  I did a bit of writing for the next track I’m hopefully going to produce myself and just generally tried to relax!

Wednesday: Due to being worried about my voice I didn’t want to record a Wednesday Cover this week, but don’t worry as I’ve already recorded next week’s and it is a great one!  I was actually playing in a team golf competition on Wednesday, which was really fun and topped off by the fact we won the prize for ‘Best Ladies Team’!  I also won two of the raffle prizes, which was very exciting for me as I usually have terrible luck!

Thursday:  No Thursday Twenty playlist this week as I was too busy with sound check and gigs!  Next week it will be back though, I promise!

My gig was at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, which was such a unique and cool place to perform.  It was with Inhale at the MPAN Ball, which was Alice and Wonderland themed, so the venue looked amazing!  It was good to be back onstage after a few quiet weeks!

 

Friday: On Friday I went back into college to work on the final master for Alive, only to find that I had lost my USB stick with all the files on and that we didn’t have recent backups on the studio computer!  It was a little bit heart-breaking actually!  Now I’m going to have to re-import the vocals into the Logic file and do the mix all over again and then re-master the track when it’s done!  So much extra effort unfortunately, when I was so close to being finished!

However, I was interviewed by the lovely She Makes Music blog so that was a silver lining!  Check it out!

Saturday:  Collaboration time!  I recorded two covers with the lovely Sophie Smith for our YouTube channels 🙂 It was the first time we’d met and we worked really well together!  We did Passionfruit by Drake and Strangers by Halsey and Lauren Jauregui.  The Passionfruit cover is already up on Sophie’s channel and I’ll be posting a snippet to it for the coming week’s Wednesday Cover on my channel.  Keep your eyes peeled for that and the Halsey cover too!

Sunday: The perfect day for getting outside and going for a hike with one of my best friends, Sophie (different one).  Really great to get some fresh air and have a girly catch up!

I know it was a shorter post this week (probably a welcome change) but thank you for reading all the same! 🙂

Sunday Rundown: Watching Whitney, Recording for Alive and Finishing College!

This week has been full of music but also full of decisions!  I’m not the best with change or endings of any type and I’m absolutely awful at making big decisions!  I tend to get really stressed and anxious and put off making them until it’s almost too late!  This week marked my final ‘official’ week at college, so one of my main decisions was how I am going to spend my Tuesdays and Fridays from now on and whether I want to study any further in music!  So this week has been full of mind maps and soul searching…

Monday:  Monday was such a beautiful day so I tried to make the most of the sun by playing tennis in the morning and then sunbathing a bit in the afternoon!  I was working on my release plan for the Experiments EP videos whilst I was tanning and have decided that the video for Deja Vu should be premiering towards the end of July, which is very exciting!  In the evening I went to HOME in Manchester to watch the new Whitney Houston documentary ‘Whitney: Can I Be Me?’.  Whitney is obviously a massive idol of mine as a singer and I really enjoyed learning more about her personal life, her struggles and her start in music.  What I found interesting was hearing how even she struggled with her voice on tour!

Tuesday:  I went into college to submit all my work and record some vocals for Alive.  I started from scratch again and got the whole of the lead vocal done in about an hour and a half which was great!  I then got a bounce of the track, so I could listen to them overnight to see whether I was happy with the vocals and what harmonies I fancied putting on.  I also got scouted for the X-Factor from my Facebook page however, as I see myself as more of a songwriter than anything, I didn’t think it was the right fit for me.

Wednesday:  After deciding I was happy with the vocals, I put the harmony and ad lib parts down for Alive, which wasn’t quite as easy as it should have been as my voice was playing havoc!  Luckily it finally cooperated enough to get a take I was happy with!

I then recorded my Wednesday Cover, which this week was Somebody Else by 1975.  I absolutely love this song and had a lot of fun working out how to translate it to a loop version!  Such a catchy track with a great 80s throwback feel, which is something I’m really into myself at the moment as Alive has that vibe.  Check out the full version below:

 

Thursday: On Thursday I had my roots done, which always makes me feel better but is very boring when I’m in the salon!  I used this time to research promoters in Manchester and make notes on them.  After that I played golf and went out for tea, which was lovely.  As always, I updated my Thursday Twenty playlist, but I did it when I was slightly tipsy so got a very interesting mix of songs!

1. Higher Ground by Aron – Love this!  I found it when searching for Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground, but it was a very happy accident!  Great track!
2. Oliver Twist by D’banj – Bit of a throwback but a true summer favourite of mine!
3. Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller – Not usually a DJ Khaled fan, but this track is great!  I’ve recently been experimenting with putting electric guitar in tracks and in Wild Thoughts it works perfectly.
4. Feels So Good by Mase – Another biggg throwback!
5. Down by Fifth Harmony
6. Juicy by The Notorious B.I.G
7. Proud Mary by Tina Turner – I adore this song and constantly watch videos of her or Beyoncé performing it live!
8. My Love Is Your Love by Whitney Houston
9. Somebody by Natalie La Rose
10. Human (Rudimental Remix) by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man
11. Hook, Line & Sinker by Royal Blood – I love Royal Blood and from what I’ve seen they totally smashed it at Glasto!
12. Life’s About To Get Good by Shania Twain – Another idol and I’m super excited she’s brought out a new track!
13. The Line (Offiah Remix) by Raye
14. Sweatpants by Terror Jr
15. Look At Us Now by Lost Kings
16. I’m A Fan by Pia Mia feat. Jeremih
17. Buh Bye by LIZ LOKRE – LOVE this!  The middle 8/breakdown is especially great!
18. Naked by Gil Glaze
19. Rock It by Rave Radio
20. Just For One Night by Blonde feat. Astrid S – I think Astrid S is such a fab player in the new pop scene and this collab with Blonde has a great vibe and a killer chorus.

 

Friday:  The main aim on Friday was to get a first mix done of Alive.  We spent a couple of hours looking at compression, reverb and levels.  We’d already done a mix without the vocals, so the focus was getting the vocals and harmonies sitting right with the track and tweaking the other levels.  Since then I’ve had a listen to the mix on six different speakers and written notes, ready to tweak next week.

I also had my final day at college and found out I was shortlisted for Student Of The Year and Song of the Year, which was great after all my hard work!  The track I entered in the competition is called Shackles and it is one of my favourites from my upcoming album… have a listen to a clip me performing it below!

 

Saturday:  I did some more research on promoters and did some writing for a collaboration I have coming up.  I’m dueting with a great singer from Mansfield called Sophie Smith, which will be fun as I haven’t done much collaborating yet!

Sunday: I played tennis, worked out and then started contacting some of the promoters I have been researching… fingers crossed it leads to some great gigs!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the insight into my life at the moment! 🙂

Sunday Rundown: BBC Radio Manchester, Recording Vocals and Christies Summer Ball Charity Gig

This week has been mainly focused on finishing my academic year at college and making plans for the future!  It’s actually been quite a memorable and enjoyable week though on the whole, with lots of progress made in various areas!  Now I’m just not looking forward to having to make bigger life decisions next week!

Monday:  This was mainly just a day for recovery after having too much fun and not enough sleep at Parklife!  However, I did finish my final piece of academic work for college, I practised looping with my keyboard and I wrote the lyrics and melody for the first song I’m writing in a harmonic minor key… so all in all, not bad for a hangover day!

Tuesday:  Tuesdays are my full day in college and this was the day I presented my final presentation about how I have grown as an artist and developed my brand in the past year.  It was actually really interesting to do the presentation as it made me quite proud of the amount of work I have put in and how much progress I have made!  Although, I did start to panic almost immediately after I had done it, as I realised that I had to work out what plan is for after I finish college!

Wednesday:  On Wednesday I recorded my cover for my Wednesday Cover on YouTube.  I chose to do Beyoncé’s ‘1+1’ as I love the song and had been reminded of that when playing it on piano on Monday.  The loops I built were pretty long, which meant the vocals don’t come in until about 3 mins in, but after that I think it works pretty nicely!  I’m still learning with the loop pedal and I’m really enjoying playing with it and putting whatever I come up with on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.  Check it out below:

Thursday:  Thursday was a great day!  I played golf in the sun in the morning and then in the afternoon I went to Media City in Salford to the BBC Studios.  I was one of three students from college asked to go on the radio to talk about our experience at Access To Music and what we were aiming to do in our careers.  It was a great experience and really cool to see the inside of the BBC building!  I’ve put a Facebook Live video of the experience on my Facebook page so check it out!

 

I also updated my Thursday Twenty Playlist as I always do on Thursdays… here are this week’s selections:

1. Know No Better by Major Lazer (feat. Quavo, Camilla Cabello and Travis Scott)
2. No Diggity by Campsite Dream – Great remix of an absolute classic!
3. Show You Love by Kato and Sigala (feat. Hailee Steinfeld)
4. In The Arms Of A Stranger by Mike Posner (Grey Remix) –  I really love this as I think the story in the lyrics is something that a lot of people will have experienced at some point.
5. My Favourite Faded Fantasy by Damien Rice – Recommended to me by my guitarist and it is beautiful and tragic.
6. Somebody Else by The 1975 – Literally obsessed and I didn’t even think I liked the band before I heard this!
7. Nothing To Say by Tara Mobee
8. Can’t Feel My Face by Ember Island (Joe Mason Remix)
9. I Have Questions by Camilla Cabello
10. Strangers by Halsey (feat. Lauren Jauregui)
11. Blinded by Emmit Fenn – Such an unbelievably gorgeous and moving song… the way it builds is just effortless.
12. Survivors by Selena Gomez – Little throwback from one of my favourite pop princesses.
13. Old Thing Back by Matoma & The Notorious B.I.G (feat. Ja Rule & Ralph Tresvant) – This is one of my ultimate happy songs… perfect for summer and that sax is just to die for!
14. Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye (Kygo Remix)
15. Nasty Gal by Betty Davis
16. Higher Ground by TNGHT (feat. Hudson Mohawke x Lunice) – I never get bored of this song… so fun to turn it up loud when you are driving and wait for the drop!
17. Master Blaster (Jammin’) by Stevie Wonder – Currently learning this for my cover set and am just loving it… so excited to perform it!
18. Come First by Terror Jr – So much sass in this song that it actually inspired me to write my own sassy bitch song (Solo)!
19. Places by Martin Solveig
20. Run Me Dry by Bryson Tiller

Friday:  Friday was spent at college and I had a really productive studio session!  I got all the lead vocals down for my track ‘Alive’ and a few harmony parts.  The plan is to finish the rest of the vocals on Tuesday and then have a mixing day on Wednesday!  I’m hoping to have a clip to share really soon!

Saturday:  I was playing with the cover band I play with, Inhale, at the Christie’s Hospital Staff Summer Ball at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.  It was for a great cause and the crowd was great as they were definitely there to celebrate and let off some steam!

Sunday:  I have been napping in the sun today after a really late night last night after the gig!  Going to be doing some planning for my career in general, especially to do with my new videos… so stay tuned for that!

Thank you for reading!

Sunday Rundown: Relaxing in Scotland, Gigging in Liverpool and Getting Ready for my College Showcase

This week (29th May to 4th June) has been a very busy one, with a lot of the focus being on my final showcase performance at music college.  I’ve been doing a lot of last minute prep and rehearsals, along with performing at my first gig in Liverpool!

Monday: I was still in Scotland on Monday after the long Bank Holiday weekend.  Whilst I was there I did a lot of relaxing, chilling in the spa, hiking and drinking… however, not much music stuff!  I was planning on getting some writing done but I was very easily distracted by all the activities at Gleneagles, so I failed a bit on that front!

Tuesday: Most of the day was taken up with the drive back from Gleneagles!  Managed to get a massage in the morning before we left and then I napped all the way home as I was so exhausted!  I drank too much the night before, so I had a terrible sore throat, which worried me for the gig on Thursday!

Wednesday: Due to my sore throat, I decided not to attempt to record a new cover for my YouTube channel, but to upload a live cover of Billie Jean from a gig.  I absolutely adore this song and it’s so fun to do with a loop pedal!  The video was taken at Gullivers in Manchester when I was performing there with my guitarist a few weeks ago!

On Wednesday I also selected my setlist for my gig in Liverpool the next day!  I decided on ten tracks from my upcoming album, Chemistry, two of which are on my Experiments EP.

1. Lead Me Down
2. Chemistry
3. Poison
4. Tomorrow I’ll Still Love You
5. Another Goodbye
6. Other Girl
7. Shackles
8. Warning
9. You Want Me Most
10. Solo

Thursday: Thursday was definitely my busiest day of the week!  I packed my bags for staying overnight in Liverpool and updated my Thursday Twenty playlist in the morning, along with squeezing in a rehearsal with my band for my college showcase. This week’s playlist featured:

1. Edge Of Seventeen (with the Melbourne Symphony) by Stevie Nicks- Live 2006 by Stevie Nicks – I’m a huggeeee Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks fan, so I already loved this song, but I only discovered this live version this week.  I honestly think it’s even better than her original version!
2. Whippin (feat. Felix Snow) by Kiiara – I play Kiiara’s ‘low kii savage’ EP all the time and was wondering when she was going to release a follow up!  This track is great and full of sass, so I’m really excited for the next single!
3. Painting Greys by Emmit Fenn – I only heard Emmit Fenn for the first time this week and I’m literally in love!  I could have put all five of his singles on the playlist happily!
4. Wearing Nothing by Dagny – Stuck in my head all week!
5. Castle by Halsey – So glad that Halsey has released a new album!  This is a throwback, but don’t be surprised to see one of the new tracks on next week’s playlist!
6. I’m Stuck by Noah Cyrus
7. Better by Meghan Trainor – Meghan Trainor was the soundtrack to my America trip with my best friend last summer and we were both in love with this track!
8. Poison by Sally Caitlin
9. Begin (feat. Wales) by Shallou – So beautifully chilled!
10. Down in Flames by Ella Vos
11. For The Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti by Sufjan Stevens – One of my favourite songs of all time!  I actually have a tattoo of the chorus lyrics, “If there’s any other way, I’d do anything for you.” on my body!
12. Remember I Told You (feat. Anne Marie and Mike Posner) by Nick Jonas – Amazing features on this song; all the voices work so well together!
13. For You (Bearcubs Remix) by Gavin James
14. Lady by Lucy Neville – I wouldn’t be surprised to see some really big things from Lucy Neville in the future!
15. Best Friend by Must Be Nice
16. Wicked Games (Tom Misch Remix) by Parra for Cuva – Great ‘remix of a remix’!  This song is just fab in general though… I love playing it on the piano!
17. Body Say by Demi Lovato
18. Beggin For Thread by Banks – As I’ve mentioned before, I am the ultimate Banks fangirl… and this week I bought tickets for her upcoming tour!!! Yayyyy!
19. We’ll Be Fine (feat. Birdman) by Drake – I’ve got to be honest, I’m not a Drake fan at all now, but on the drive up to Scotland I rediscovered the Take Care album and it is an amazing selection of songs!
20. Last Cigarette by Kennedi

https://open.spotify.com/embed/user/11155725702/playlist/3fsHErchu1TvOs4URkHZWu

On Thursday I also had my gig in Liverpool at Hangar 34!  The venue was amazing and I had some friends come to support me, so that was really nice!  I managed to get some lovely pictures taken in my sparkly dress onstage, which was an added bonus!

Friday: I went back to Manchester in the morning to rehearse for my college showcase and get some feedback from my tutors about my setlist and performance.  I then did a bit of work on the track I’m producing (Alive), mainly just getting it ready for me to record vocals onto it and adding a couple of piano parts.  Another great thing about Friday was that I think I managed to find a new guitarist to play with, as the guitarist I currently have is getting a new job, meaning we couldn’t work together anymore!  Then I went back to Liverpool for a night out with my best friend, which was actually super fun!

Saturday:  Saturday was pretty much just one big hangover for me but I did manage to add about 1000 words on my college research project essay and potentially set up a collaboration for the near future… so that could be exciting!

Sunday: I’ve been playing in a golf competition today and as it was the first time I’ve played since November, I was terrible!  Luckily my outfit looked cute and carrying your bag around for almost 5 miles burns some calories… otherwise it would have been a waste of a morning!

Thank you for reading!  Next week I’ll be able to recap on how the college showcase went! 🙂

Sunday Rundown: The week I was reminded about how amazing my city really is.

So this week  I saw how evil people can be but also how amazing they can be.  On Monday night, at the Manchester Arena, a suicide bomber killed 22 innocent people and injured many more.  I really have no words when it comes to trying to explain why a person would want to target innocent people at all, but especially a concert full of children and teenagers.  That Ariana Grande concert should have been one of the best nights of their lives, like so many concerts at the arena have been for myself, but instead it became one of the worst.  That type of evil is just indescribable and inexcusable.  However, the way the city banded together was something beautiful to come out of such a horrendous tragedy.   Free taxis, people taking in stranded children and relatives, the Queen visiting victims, poignant vigils and Ariana Grande herself organising a benefit… all of these things helped to reaffirm my faith in humanity.  I am absolutely devastated for my city and for the victims, their friends and their families, but I am also proud of the way Manchester has responded.  Shocked, shaken but never broken.  Obviously this has been on my mind a lot this week, so I thought instead of mentioning it by day in the rundown, I would just write a little something at the start.  I hope from the bottom of my heart that something like this never happens again in Manchester and that the terorists are aware that they cannot break our spirits or rob us of our hope.  In terms of myself this week, I shall keep it brief.

Monday: Not a very busy day music wise for me!

Tuesday: I went into college and worked on Alive again.  This time we recorded some guitar parts for the outdo (that I won’t actually be using it turns out!) and I wrote the lyrics for the final verse, which I have been meaning to do for ages!  I’m ready to put the vocals on next week, which is a great feeling!  Hopefully, I’ll have something to share soon!

Wednesday: I recorded my first loop cover at my keyboard.  I chose to do Charlie Puth’s new song ‘Attention’!  I’m actually a big big fan of this song as the bass line is so catchy!

I then had rehearsals for my gig on Friday in Chester, with my guitarist.  I then went for tea in Chester and had a little wander around!

Thursday: Thursday was the most exciting day of the week as it was the day the Poison video premiered!  It was featured on Indie Music Central and I was so happy as I’ve been waiting to share this for ages!  Think powder paint, drums and glitter….

 

It was also a sunny sunny day, so I decided to work on my balcony in bikini.  It’s funny how much a bit of sun can improve your day!

As usual, I made my Thursday Twenty playlist and here are the tracks!

Thursday Twenty:

Wonderwall by Ryan Adams – Manchester has obviously been on my mind a lot this week, so I wanted to include this song as it’s an amazing version of Oasis’s classic. It’s so emotional and felt really poignant after Monday’s tragedy.
Most Girls by Hailee Steinfeld – This is my favourite track this week! Just such an amazing message about all girls being unique and not having to apologise for that!
I Was Wrong by A R I Z O N A (Robin Schulz Remix)
TiO by ZAYN – I surprised myself by liking this song as I’m not usually a ZAYN fan!
I’m In Control by Trinix
Deja Vu by Post Malone and Justin Bieber
Table for One by Liana Banks – Super catchy and cool and I love the independent vibe of the lyrics!
AM by Brooks Brown
May I Have This Dance [Remix] by Francis and the Lights (feat. Chance The Rapper) – I was recommended this song by my guitarist, Keenan, as he’s a massive Chance fan and I actually love it! It’s so chilled and the melody is beautiful! I love the fact it’s got an almost 80s Peter Gabriel vibe 🙂
Higher by Maximilian – This is gorgeous and full of intensity and understated drama. Amazing production and vocals!
Poison by Sally Caitlin – I decided to include my track Poison this week as the video has just premiered!
Come Back by Willie Shaw
Body Talk by Julius – I instantly loved this due to the ‘lime and the coconut’ reference… but it’s actually such a feel good song! Perfect for sunny summer days!
Crying in the Club by Camilla Cabello
Bad Liar by Selena Gomez – I’m a hugggeeee Selena fan.. so I was super excited when I saw she had a new song out. I’m so glad she’s stuck with the sultry vibe from Hands to Myself and Good For You… I love it!
I Like Me Better by Lauv – Such a fun song! I find the chorus gets stuck in your head for hours… a great sing-a-long one!
Not Ready by Naffz
Breathe by Lesko
One Last Time by Ariana Grande – I’ve always been very moved by this song and it was my favourite on the My Everything album. Now it has taken on a new meaning across the world as a tribute to the innocent victims of the Manchester attack and I think that’s amazing. I really hope it gets to number one in the charts and sends a message to terrorists that, although we will always mourn victims of their attacks and we will never forget, we will also never be broken and terror will never win.
Champagne Supernova by Oasis – This is my favourite Oasis song as I think the lyrics are beautiful. This pick is for the 22 that lost their lives, the injured, the families of those affected and my amazing city of Manchester.

Friday: I was performing my covers set at a lovely country restaurant in Macclesfield, called the Windmill.  It was very different to most of my gigs and a lot more chilled, but I really enjoyed singing there!

Saturday and Sunday:  I’m up in Scotland for Bank Holiday weekend!  I’m focusing on relaxing, hiking and hopefully getting some writing done!

Thank you for reading as always!  Next week should be exciting as I’ll be able to talk about my gig in Liverpool 🙂

 

Sunday Rundown: John Mayer, Gullivers and Spotify!

Starting this week, every Sunday I will be doing a weekly blog talking about everything I have been up to, my favourite music that week and anything exciting I can think of.  This week seemed like the perfect week to start as it’s been amazing and music-filled!  I’ve been to watch two gigs, performed myself, booked tickets for more gigs and started my first Spotify playlist as a verified artist…busy, busy times!  Without further ado, here is the rundown of the past week (8th April to 14th April)!

MONDAY: I spent most of the day rehearsing for my gig on Saturday and getting the loops sorted for my new songs, ‘Warning’ and ‘Shackles’!

TUESDAY: I attend music college every Tuesday and I had a super productive day as I made loads of progress on my first self-produced track, which is called ‘Alive’.  I have been working on the song on Logic for quite a while and am aiming to create really fun but relaxing summer song about running away and staying young…. so we’ll see how that goes!

WEDNESDAY:  Wednesday was a great day as I managed to record a cover for ‘Cover Wednesdays’ on my YouTube channel.  The song I picked was ‘There’s Nothing Holding Me Back’ by Shawn Mendes.  I had heard it the day before, instantly loved it and knew that it was the right song to try and cover.

That evening, I went to a fabulous event in Manchester organised by Punch Records called, ‘Welcome To My City’!  The gig featured five amazing artists: Gambimi, Sub Blue, Kizzy Crawford, Nipah and Tobi Sunmola.  It was great to watch such talented artists do their thing and show off their talent.  I enjoyed having the opportunity to network a little too!

Check out Tobi Sunmola performing his amazing track ‘Run Free’!

THURSDAY:  On Thursday I had more rehearsals, bought my tickets to see Gorillaz (Yayyyyyyy!!!) and also set up my first ‘Artist Playlist’ on Spotify.  I got verified on Spotify last week so it was really excited to finally make a playlist on my artist page showing what I’m currently listening to!  The playlist is called ‘Thursday Twenty’ and is simply twenty songs that I’m loving each week… updated every Thursday!  This week’s picks were:

1. Waters by Gambimi – I loved this song when he performed it live at ‘Welcome To My City’… such a chilled and romantic vibe!
2. Committed by Sub Blue – Another favourite from the event on Wednesday… a great live performer too!
3. Lead Me Down by Sally Caitlin – I felt like I should include one of my songs in my first ever playlist!
4. There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes 
5. Old Friends by Jasmine Thompson – I heard it on the Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack and fell in love with the relatable lyrics!
6. Hot Blood by Kaleo – Obsessed with this song and the whole album to be honest… just a must listen if you like a bit of rock that isn’t that heavy!
7. Breathe by Astrid S – Big Astrid S fan… she makes the sort of modern alternative pop which I think has a really fresh sound.
8. 1998 by Chet Faker & Banks – As the ultimate Banks fangirl I kind of had to include her, but this track with Chet Faker is a lot more summery and softer than her usual offerings.
9. Quit You by Lost Kings & Tinashe
10. Not Going Home by DVBBS
11. It Ain’t Me (Tiesto’s AFTR:HRS Remix) by Kygo & Selena Gomez
12. Run Free by Tobi Sunmola – Amazing song by a new Manchester based artist… his voice is like Louis Armstrong crossed with Howlin’ Wolf!
13. Wherever You Go by TRXD ft. Hilde
14. Wicked Games by The Weeknd – Rediscovered this song and my love for it after playing it on piano again last week… still my favourite song by The Weeknd!
15. No Promises by Cheat Codes ft. Demi Lovato
16. Want You Back by HAIM – I love HAIM and their cool brand of alternative pop with catchy hooks and this is the perfect sunny day driving song!
17. Places by Martin Solveig
18. Feels (Jai Wolf Remix) by Kiiara
19. No Don by LottoBoyzz
20. You Don’t Know Me by Jax Jones ft. Raye

 

 

FRIDAY:  Literally the best day ever as my dream of seeing my ultimate idol, John Mayer, in concert came true!  He was absolutely incredible and did not disappoint me at all, despite me having exceedingly high expectations!  He didn’t play my favourite song, ‘I Don’t Trust Myself Loving You’, however, he did play ‘Edge Of Desire’, which is my second favourite!  Managed to get myself some sweet merch, which I haven’t taken off much since the gig!  Just an unbelievable night and a dream come true!

 

 

SATURDAY:  On Saturday I, myself, was gigging at Gullivers in Manchester!  I performed some of my original songs for the first time with my loop pedal, drum pad and my acoustic guitarist, Keenan.  Really enjoyed performing and sharing some brand new material, despite being slightly under the weather and completely losing my voice after the show!

 

SUNDAY: Rest, recuperation and planning for next week!

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into my day to day life…. I promise next week won’t be quite as long! Thank you for reading 🙂

New EP Release: Experiments!

Check out my new EP, Experiments, which has just been released on all major retailers!  The Spotify Web Player link is below, so you can give it a play and follow me if you like it!

I’m extremely proud of this EP as I feel like it really sums me up as an artist and embodies the sort of music I want to make moving forward.  All the songs have their own videos, with the Poison video being the next one to be released… so keep your eyes peeled for that!  The EP is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and most other digital distributors… so go and have a listen and let me know what you think on Facebook.

 

 

Behind The Scenes – Experiments EP Video Shoots