hopesuart-blog

[hopesuart-blog]

PLAYLIST OF SONGS AND ALBUMS MENTIONED AND REVIEWED THROUGH OUT THIS BLOG

[hopesuart-blog]

Think Piece

If it’s no bother...

Oi, women! We gave you the vote! Now can you please sit quietly? You’re all acting rather spoilt. What do you want now?...Sorry to be so tricky but I’d love sanitary products to be free as I can’t tell my body every month to, “stop woman-ing!”. If it’s no bother I’d also like to teach the perverted, fat, ugly man who slowed down his car to then lean back in his seat to look at me, how to act around another human being who isn’t a male. That definitely made me want to hop right into his rusty, absent bodywork, Nissan Micra from 2003. If only he put as much effort into facing the RIGHT way and looking for a gym. I’d like people at my Music Academy to stop assuming I’m a singer that studies vocals...just because I’m a girl. I’m a female producer, one of 4 girls in my class. Shocking, I know. What else? Oh yes, I’d like my gender to be more represented at festivals.

Why aren’t we seeing more women on a lineup? This is interesting to me especially seeing, as far as the charts go, pop is being owned by women artists such as, Ariana Grande, Little Mix, Sia and so on. Upcoming women in Lo-Fi R&B/Rap including Kari Faux, Doja Cat and Ari Lennox (To name a few) are also flying the flag for women power, through self expressional erotic songwriting, because THEY want to. Not to impress or attract the righteous men amongst you. When watching an interview with UK rapper, Miss Banks, I found her draw upon a very correct idea. When she was asked if she minds being constantly compared to other female artists, even though this rarely happens to men, she responded by saying that it doesn’t necessarily urk her - however, why only compare her to women? She states she can rap, “Better than most men too”...if we are going to marginalise let’s at least move the bars further apart. Just to add excitement.

Taking this fantastic Miss Banks mentality forward, it opens the dialogue of - why are men taking the spotlight when, sometimes, women can actually do it better. Statistics show in 2017, 8 out of 10 headline slots were occupied by male acts - this is across 10+ major festivals in the UK alone. Wireless festivals 2018 lineup only included 3 female acts. I’ll let that sink in. Contrasting to Bestivals more open minded schedule highlighting many more girl performances, most being headliners. Yet, they say: [1] “60 percent of Bestival's audience is female, which is kind of unusual... but it's great we can reflect that in the line-up." Do festivals just appease the demographic of go’ers? If so, this may explain the Wireless situation. Being an Urban/Grime heavy event, boys surely want to mosh pit to the likes of Skepta over Emeli Sande perhaps?

Ok, I don’t think we are asking for too much but are we being too pedantic? Is this all just a coincidence and the way it’s been favoured this year? “BBC Sound of 2017 winner Ray BLK took to Twitter to explain she'd been asked to play Wireless but turned down the opportunity. The BBC understand other female artists were approached to play the event but were unable to take part this year.” Does it come down to festival organisers needing to take more risks or, que my mum’s favourite quote: just the way it goes? Either way women are still being under-represented, which is an issue in itself and one I think is likely to change once more attention has been brought to the matter. Maybe it comes down to availability, audience preference, or maybe everyone is scared that we can do it better...We are bored of constantly having to ask for recognition and exposure, especially in the year 2018. Give it to us now.

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Nányë - Band Feature

Beautiful and Wild: Interviewing Oli Rushen of Nányë

The pleasure is all mine. I’m a big Nányë fan. Echoes of beautiful guitar riffs, perfect drumming and enchanting vocals. The kind of music that would be played if and when we finally leave Earth and move to Mars. Transcending, innovative, creative - my 30 paged list of ridiculously positive adjectives goes on and on. Nányë was officially bought into the world when Oli Rushen met Ella Joy in one of his first lessons at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. He mentions after they spent the whole night creating music together for the first time they became, “hooked” and I’m so thankful they did.

Off they set as a duo, writing songs and playing a few gigs. Ella highlighting the enthusiasm they have to write through her beautiful melody and glissando. After jamming with many drummers at ACM, it then dawned on Oli that his close friend, Elliot Hingston was: “Probably the best drummer I would be likely to meet in my life.” He explains, “He is so dedicated to rhythm”. During a party hosted by Hingston, Ella and Oli approached him asking if he would join Nányë. Now a powerful trio, the band was in full force - but what happened next?

I’m so glad to grab a hold of Oli Rushen, (producer, vocalist, bassist, guitarist - everything-ist) and chuck curious questions at him. Time to delve into the world of Nányë.

“Elliot changed the game, his rhythmic stability and structure, and the way he and myself can integrate our groove made Nányë so fun and vibrant” He recalls, “Once Ella’s synth was being sent to his ears the game changed again, Elliot’s drumming to a synth arpeggiator is truly heavenly in the filthiest way”.

It’s true, I’ve seen them play live many times and been made to feel the positive attributes of confusion. If they were to ever see me in the crowd they would notice a vibrant expression of intrigue and understanding on my mean mug. Oli goes onto explain: “Our live performances are 50 percent carefully written material and 50 percent crazy improv, Jazz, EDM. The improv sections follow structured melodies and move into freer sections just like a lot of the Jazz standards of the 20th century, it gives us the perfect mixture of progressive and experimental aspects, mixed with a showcase of our writing abilities.”

So, surely you guys are wanting the audience to feel a certain way? “If we are doing our job right, then listeners should feel trust in our ability to take them on a journey” He answers. “I want them to forget that have a body, I want them to groove, I want them to feel epiphonal and I want them to come away from the performance with a buzz that lasts a good chunk of their night.” One thing I love about Nányë other than their dedication to music, is their desire to effect others and open peoples minds, it’s one of the most artistically, selfless and rewarding trait the band own. They don’t perform to receive compliments and to bask in the glory of new fans bowing down to them after their set, thank God! Unlike these pretty Pop boys who put glitter on their face to make you think they’re being groundbreaking...Ugh. Heroically and extremely musically - they want YOU to leave your thoughts as they offer a moment of peace and discovery.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank (pay) me later! I’ve put forward the question we all wanted to know. You’re oh so welcome - where did the name Nányë come from? Turns out: “Nányë is Tolkien's elvish for 'I am', making it simultaneously one of the nerdiest and pretentious things we could have called the band”...Nerdy, perhaps. Pretentious? Not at all! He adds, “It also looks super pretty to read and it’s nice to say so for those reasons, we chose it.”

I finish my slight interrogation wanting to know the secret ingredient into their success - What do you think makes Nányë work so well together? Oli believes, “We all enjoy a crazy chunk of musical nerves and a splash of ethereal atmosphere, if you combine those two things you get the two main vibes we like to shoot out to our listeners.” Like Ying and Yang, “Equal parts beautiful and wild, I guess it's a reflection of life. I guess all art is.”

Listen to Nányë here:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/157xE8ccrHhwIGiKO6bk1v?si=SZysaC-MRNmD_P-s0vlmTw

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LIVE REVIEW: KALI UCHIS @ ELECTRIC BRIXTON

There she was. Shining in all her glory. We had all waited in the snow for this gig, walking through the harrowing chill and grey murky atmosphere just to get a taste of Kali Uchis’ world. This was the first time I’d seen her since her debut album, “Isolation” was released - granted I wasn’t as close as I was when I saw her previously at the Jazz Cafe, where she held my hand for the best 1 millisecond of my life. Nonetheless I was at the front, holding onto the metal barrier, as lifeless and cold as the season outside. No one was taking my spot...I’m always at the front. Inside the venue everything seemed warmer, happier and alive. I was finally out of the snow and immersed in a sort of utopia. There was an electric frequency in the air.

“KALI, KALI, KALI!” vibrated through the crowd. I chime in, I know how this routine goes, everytime she blesses the UK with her presence; I’m there. When she, finally, adheres to the crowds orders - she struts out, with huge sunglasses on, her neat brown bob curled upwards at the end, staying true to her 90’s vibe. The lights find refuge and chose to use her gold, disco ball, matching shirt and skirt to glimmer off.

The stunned fans screams ricoshay like a backwards mexican wave as they realise the girl we’ve all been waiting for has appeared. She slowly removes her sunglasses and chucks them behind her, as a petty rebel would an empty crisp packet. The experience has begun, she opens with a classic, “Speed” from her first project - a slow, provoking, engaging number. As she warms us up for her new content, we are putty in her perfectly moisturised and manicured hand. She finishes her song, “Loner” and without any break or second of silence, her band quickly transition to “After the Storm” her latest single. I screamed so loudly I’m sure the family I have in Australia must’ve heard me. I broke 12 voice cords in that second and probably, yet unregrettably, developed nodes…Worth it. I celebrate - finally hearing a song that has only been experienced through my old and quiet laptop speakers for the past 2 months, in person. In live time. By her, before my teary eyes.

Listen to Kali Uchis’ debut album here: 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4EPQtdq6vvwxuYeQTrwDVY?si=YGvTSXyKT9m1yf68fpzadA

[hopesuart-blog]

Leon Bridges “Good Thing” - Album Review

I’m sadly going to have to disagree with Leon Bridges’ choice of album name. You see, “Good Thing” does no justice for this piece of work, I’d much rather relate to Bridges second studio album as a: “GREAT Thing”, perhaps even “SUPERB Thing”...I guess it doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Bridges, with his 60’s vintage style and classy gentlemen persona, is in full bloom. This is my favourite album of the year, without doubt. It’s not only wholesome, sweet and provoking but more importantly - It’s actual music. Music that when you come across it, slaps you in the face and wakes you up to realise you really have been listening to a horrific miss-match of genres recently haven’t you?...The student loan has been burnt on black-out nights where 3 hours after getting in the Uber, you find yourself dancing to a cliche, label made, inevitable club “Banger”. It’s only in the dry mouthed, hungover state when you piece together the blurry puzzle of the night to feel nothing but disappointment. Posing the “What happened last night?” question to the pack of friends who are a mirrored image of your morning look. “Don’t you remember? You where dancing with random people, screaming to every song that came on”.

Leon is the cold water you splash on your face. The sudden change in October weather that reminds you to start wearing a coat. The irritating cough sent from your lungs, nagging you to quit with the constant smoking. He stops you in your tracks. I have a school girl crush on this man and choose to continuously gush to my family and friends about him, my personal favourites include, “Shy”, “Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand” and “If It Feels Good (Then It Must Be)”. Merging between funk, mellow gospel and slightly country. He can do it all! He even passed the Mum test, I sent the album over to my extremely critical mother to then receive a text no longer than 10 minutes later stating she had bought the album and managed to fit in a cry to “Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand” in the meantime.

When this album was released I was very slow to getting round to listening. I personally like to avoid hype and wait until the dust settles so I can gather my thoughts and have them be genuine and not tampered with. This doesn’t make me late to the party, more so strategical and fashionably on time. Being the hypocritical, lazy yet majorly supportive fan I am - I slept well at night believing Leon was my little secret, I knew him a year or so before from his single, “Coming Home”, a beautiful ballad that turns even the party animal in me soft and makes me sway in a dainty, self aware manor...There’s a first time for everything. When the time came for me to give Leon’s work a listen I realised the last thing he should be referred to is a “secret”. The butterfly left the cocoon whilst I was still ignorantly hibernating.

“Good Thing” gets 5 stars from me and I never thought I’d say that about an album that has even the notion of “Country”. I believe if Leon stays true to his roots, his musical niche-ness and stylistic approach, he will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

“Good Thing” Album Link:

https://open.spotify.com/album/7J9fifadXb0PPSBWXctbi8?si=IkY0KPXXQuiDeEkySjmkHw

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414 JAZZ CLUB, BRIXTON 2017