As the Bank Holiday weekend comes to a close, the reminisce of the 12th edition of Sound City leaves an exuberant buzz following the successful weekend of musical endeavours. 100s of bands from all over the world played fantastic shows and local talent soared in their surroundings.

LIGHTS OUT IN LONDON
 INTERVIEW EMOTIONAL MACHINE

After playing sold out shows at The Lexington and the Sebright Arms in London, fast-rising and encompassing themselves firmly onto the live scene is Sun Silva. These tastemakers have poised us with a fresh and airy new single following previous bold and horn-led release 'Blue Light'.

'Sun Skin Air' is textured in hazy psychedelia cushioned with crisp and titillating melodies. It's scattered with moments of sparkling keys and a breezy psych come down half way through, you can imagine the mismatch frame of mind the song was written in, as if looking through a musical kaleidoscope, the arrangements float inconspicuously through the ears. An addictive earworm with plenty of colourful hooks.

Frontman Oscar Gormley explains, “We wrote ‘Sun Skin Air’ in a horrible hostel with no fan during a visit to Spain. It’s a hard hitter, kind of Krauty and a bit gritty - probably due to the frustration of being in that room. This song is much weirder than ‘Blue Light’, which is the way we wanted to go with this one."

Confidently producing some assured and flavoursome tunes already, I am very much looking forward to the next musical fizzlers from this talented quartet. Check out 'Sun Skin Air' below. 

Soul inspired CHARLOTTE has released her solemnly sleek debut single 'I Tell Lies'. Charlotte's influences span from the greats in soul including Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Otis Reading and you can hear the undertones of these artists peppered in her work. This maybe the new single from CHARLOTTE but she has been in the industry for quite some time penning tracks with and for some of your favourite artists. She's worked with Brit-nominated Mabel, JP Cooper, The Vamps, Aloe Blacc and Liv Dawson.

Charlotte has the tones of soulful foundations yet enticing the emotion into its 21st century form. 'I Tell Lies' is a taste of her honest and open forthcoming EP.

CHARLOTTE explains, “There are four songs on the EP and I’m vulnerable in every one of them. That’s scary. I’m guilty of bottling up my emotions and when I was growing up I thought my feelings were unique to me - but I know now I was wrong – and lots of people are going through similar struggles. I wish I had known that at the time. Hopefully at least one person will hear I Tell Lies or Just Me and realise they’re not alone.”

CHARLOTTE bares all in I Tell Lies which is wrapped tightly in melodic hooks and catchy melancholic tonalities reaching those soulful peaks around her stripped authentic lyrics. Take a listen to the new single below:  

The first single from any band or artist is the crucial ingredient to create that vital earworm to hook you in. I caught The Rezner live supporting The Velvet Hands at Kick Out The Jams' Independent Venue Week night at The Good Mixer in Camden, oozing with potential and charming musicianship it was easy to foresee an exciting buzz that is about to alight.

Micky is the debut single from The Rezner. An in your face, dynamic, vivacious record that smashes through the entrance of the musical barricade. As debut singles go, The Rezner will not only have you enamored after the first riff kicks in but you will be uncontrollably screeching the incredibly catchy rasping chorus. These lads are already circulating an addictive pull on the live circuit, they are built for those big festival stages. This is just the beginning and I am very much looking forward to the next indie fizzler they have up their sleeves.

Nottingham is a monumental hotpot for exciting up and coming bands and artists. Nottingham hosts some of the best independent venues such as The Bodega, Rock City, Rescue Rooms and more.

These venues will boast talent from across the world and some of the hottest talent coming out of the city itself and there are a lot to keep on your radar.

Here are three of my picks for this month which I presented on BBC Radio Nottingham on Tuesday (29th Jan) - Listen back here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p06xh4mw (1 hour in) 

I recently had a chat with Sisteray at Sticky Mikes Frog Bar in Brighton.We talk; Recording on boats, Sisteray Said, life on the road, Busted & more

Confusion has an intricate flow. You begin to notice something quite special as you fall deeper into the arrangements of the track. George's vocals curl charmingly around the burts of synths and constant drum pattern which remains with an enticing force. As we reach the end, we are met with a soundscape of archived sounds complimented with a faster paced understated beat. This breaks up the musical current just right into, almost a state of reflection, enhancing the motion of confusion. It's written with relatability and enhances feelings we have all experienced in our day to day interactions, nothing is always clear and this track blurs that cloudy line.

Drusila are a band who are not to be missed live. There is something really special about the musicality and instrumentation in the band that interconnects to create a stimulating and absorbing live set.