Sound Of 2017 Playlist

A new year means new music and 2017 looks to be huge. 

 

Celebrating new and upcoming musicians is what this blog does best. Full of my favourite tracks, from new artists and some old favourites, you've got near three hours of incredible music ahead.

You can check is out on Spotify (linked below) and on January 31st 23:30 (GMT) I'll be crowning my Sound of 2017.

Sound of 2017 Playlist

Interviewing MISS

Every time I create a playlist, there's always a stand out track. It's always a track that I love or a track which grabs a lot of your attention. This time it came curtsey of MISS and their latest track 'Can I Spend Christmas With You?'

 

 

I caught up with the band prior to the track's release to talk about inspirations, their plans for 2017 and what led them to self-produce all of their music.

Playlist For The Holidays

My two favourite seasons for music are spring and autumn. I'm not trying to be awkward when everyone else in the world seems to love summer and winter, but I have my reasons.

 

FØNX

With a debut single as strong as ‘Hit Me Hard’, airplay on Radio 1 and Radio 6, BBC Introducing backing and performances at LeeFest, Barn on the Farm and Isle of Wright, I’m genuinely surprised more people aren’t talking about FØNX.

 

Two days before his BBC Introducing South set, I caught up with FØNX to talk about his new single, inspiration and the problems the music industry faces online.

Uncertainty : T In The Park 2017

Soundcloud Sunday : Eric Frisch

In my almost mourning state, I came across a video and band which reminded me of the two bands I championed in 2013. With a sound similar to Two Door Cinema Club and group, not-so-serious videos like Vampire Weekend, Eric Frisch just may have became my new favourite musician.

 

 

Soundcloud Sunday : Bitter's Kiss

I've found my way back onto the Soundcloud and straight onto Bitter's Kiss.

Getting Through Uni Playlist

I get very bored at uni. Even in a course I love, there is alot of time where I find mysef day dreaming or having a spare two hours to do nothing with between lectures. Naturally, I turned to music, this blog and decided to make a playlist encapsulating everything I'm currently listening to. (Of course, if I find other tracks I love I'll be adding them in too.)

 

Aptly named, my 'Getting Through Uni Playlist'.

Younger, Louder And On The Rise

In a small crowded room in Glasgow, I watched my favourite band take to the stage. The same band who I had spoken to earlier in the day, were about to play in one of the most historic music venues in the UK.

 

01/09/2016 Explained : Viola Beach

"What is your opinion on Viola Beach and their debut album? Do you think the right thing to do was release it to the public?"

The bands Maida Vale Session for BBC Introducing was my only time to hear them play live. Before I had watched their Sofar Session, days after it was published, and I love it but Madia Vale was broadcasted live, in real time. In all honesty, I didn't realise how good they were until that night. Up until that point, I had heard of them and knew the track 'Boys That Sing'. It was an 'earworm track', a song I couldn't get out of my head. Hearing that song live at Maida Vale proved to me how good they were. The session itself won me over. Once again, it made me remember why I love small bands, like Viola Beach. The bands who need to work their way up through tiny venues and are nowhere near sold out gigs. People who take music seriously but don't take themselves as seriously. The bands who have something to prove. The people who are content with a small gig and a tiny audience, as long as the audience enjoys it.

Crowded Stages and Chaos

01/09/2016

It's a new month.  

 

Reading And Leeds 2016

 

 When does summer end ? For me, its the end of Reading and Leeds.

 

New track. New album. Same old You Me At Six.

938 days since their last release You Me At Six are back with a new single, new album and new(er) sound.

 

 

The Return Of You Me At Six

I have not written about this band in a long time. Mainly because they disappeared last July after the tweet, 'We'll Be Back'.

 

And true to their word, their back.

Summer Playlist

Photo : Samantha Karys for Shybutlovesmusic

To be honest I have no idea where half of this year has went. It has been a huge year for music with so many new releases and debut albums. After the somewhat success of my first summer/holiday playlist I decided it was time for another.

Hide & Seek Interview

Photo : Hide and Seek

Earlier this year I came across Hide & Seek. With only two live demo tracks on Soundcloud and a few videos on Youtube, it felt like a tease to say the least. I instantly wanted to see them live and, alike so many other fans, needed more music. 

 

Then their debut EP was announced.

Skateparks and Sunshine - Summer 2016 Playlists

Even when leaving, 'the Golden Coast' taunted me with its abundance of skateparks and sunshine and in a time zone eight hours behind my home, I decided that would be the final name for my collective playlist. 

 

T In The Park 2016

We waited. We anticipated. We looked forward to another year at Strathallan Castle with a huge line up. And now the gates are open.

Model Aeroplanes Interview

Pretty Vicious Its Always There New Video

 

 Crowned as my Sound Of 2016, Pretty Vicious haven't failed to deliver. 

 

The Ride Next Week

This time next week Catfish and the Bottlemen's second album will be released. The 27th of May has been a date in my diary for a very long time. Just like with the debut, I have it pre-ordered and will possibly again shed a tear when it arrives.

Quiet recently I was asked if I want another album from the band. At first I was sort of in shock from the question. Of course I do, was my obvious answer. I was then asked 'would a second, third or fourth album ever top 'The Balcony'?' That's when I fully understood the questions.

I have said it before, The Balcony is one of my all time favourite albums. In a (good) way it shocked people. The small Welsh band with the funny name from Llandudno produced this incredible debut album which competes very easily with some other musicians second and third albums. Nothing will be better than The Balcony for me. The Ride may be an incredible album but The Balcony is special, to me, beyond the music engraved and encased on every CD and vinyl.

There's not much I can say about 'The Ride', mainly because it isn't out yet, but so far from tracks like Soundcheck and Twice, I'm looking forward to it. It won't be The Balcony but it will resemble it somehow and I'm pretty excited for it. In a way I would love for it to be 'different'. A bit more experimental and not just an extension of The Balcony.

I've always written about how genuine this band are. There's the running joke that it isn't a Catfish and the Bottlemen concert if Van McCann doesn't say thank you 100 times accompanied with a long speech and some sort of mention of Ewan McGregor (viably or audibly). I just hope their genuineness and love for music isn't lost.

They have this passion for music which at very gig creates an atmosphere which is second to none. There are moments during their gigs where the crowd goes mental, from the start of Pacifier all the way through Cocoon to the very end of Homesick. There is a rawness and a shared excitement reverberated in the crowd being happy to completely loose themselves. However, when the crowds calm down, when Hourglass starts and all the camera lights and lighters come out, that rawness is still there. That excitement still exists, just softened and put on hold by McCann playing acoustically. A new album is great but to really know it and love it, you need to hear it live. (Yes I'm hoping for another UK tour at some point soon.)

The day 'The Balcony' was released I played every Catfish and the Bottlemen song I owned. There were only six songs. Six songs I adored. Six songs which made me put so much faith in this band. Six songs which won me over. This time next week, when waiting for 'The Ride', I won't have six songs to listen to. I will have an incredible debut album which went gold. An album which has won so many people over. The album which changed everything. The Balcony.

Study Leave 2016 Playlist

 

 

Four weeks. Four exams. No school. Its that time of year again.

Interviewing Alicewell

If there is one unsigned band who belongs at Reading and Leed's this year, it is this band. 

 

Earlier this month I caught up with the band to talk about influences, favourite tracks and what's next for this breaking-out arena-ready band.

 

Finally, We Can Own Cave Song

Crowned as my Sound of 2016, my Welsh favourites, Pretty Vicious, have finally released the Cave Song as part of their new EP.

 

Hevy Fest Is No More

Enter Shikari were set to headline and the announced line up included Neck Deep, Creeper and While She Sleeps. Now its all gone as we loose Hevy fest.

It's Time To Get Excited : Glastonbury

The line up for Glastonbury was announced just over a week ago and it is incredible, featuring the likes of The 1975, Muse, Jack Garratt, Jake Bugg and Hinds. Of course out of the line up I have my absolute favourites.

 

 Below are a few of my favourite acts who you can catch live this year at Glastonbury and why they are worth seeing live.

JAKL Interview

Catching Up With Brave Baby

Late last summer I stumbled across Brave Baby's 'Electric Friends' album. Barely knowing three songs on the album I instinctively bought it. The artwork alone is something to own proudly.

 

Luna Rosa Interivew

I think their one of the most exciting bands in the world right now. Impossible to hate and addictive, a small band with a big sound who could quiet easily be part of the soundtrack to this summer.

 

Viola Beach: The Next Big Thing ?

Young, talented and ready to take on the world Viola Beach may just be the next 'big thing.' 

As We Once Were Interview

 Alternative pop-punk boys (and girl) As We Once Were are on road to becoming the next big band from Illinois. With a tendency to tell jokes on social media and dreaming of Warped Tour, they might just become your next favourite band. 

"Success isn’t an overnight sprint, it’s a marathon made up of small accomplishments added up together."

Narrow Plains Debut Album Review

Last time I spoke to Narrow Plains the band where in the waiting period, between recording the album and its release scheduled for this year. I have waited along time for this album, and now its finally here.

 

When Thieves Are About Interview

Things don't come easy in this world, and maybe When Thieves Are About effort is about to pay off as they seem to be nearing the edge of something huge. 

 

 

 

Already playing alongside Man Overboard and We Came As Romans this band are destined headline Vans Warped Tour, and on the way will become your new favourite band.

 

 "We play music you don't like in places in you don't visit."

 

 

 

Soundcloud Sunday - Fox Chapel

Nearing the end of last year I came across Fox Chapel. Like something out of an indie summertime haze, I instantly found a band I adored.

2016

Sound Of 2016 : Pretty Vicious

Pretty Vicious. 

 

My (slight) obsession of this year. 

 

My sound of next year.