spotlight

Spotlight!: Yoshika Colwell

/ James Fenney

As I’ve grown older it’s begun to dawn on me that the key to happiness is learning to find comfort in the life you’re living. No more constant comparisons to the lives those around you are leading, no more lingering too long on regrets & what-ifs, no more holding on to the idea that “one day, things will all be different“. Life isn’t about the big picture, it’s all in the everyday. Most of our time spent on this Earth is ordinary, and all of that time is spent as ourselves. Making peace with who you are, what you truly need, and how you want to spend your days. Accepting the things you can’t change, and being wise enough to recognise the parts you can and should. That’s the way to contentment. There’s A Time, the debut EP from singer/songwriter Yoshika Colwell, provides an idyllic little oasis of said contentment for anyone in search of it. Thanks in no small part to the lightness and grace of her vocals, the warmth and tenderness of her folk arrangements, and the soft naturalistic approach to production that makes you feel like you’re there holding your breath in the corner of the recording studio. Yet beyond all that, contained in these five tracks, are Yoshika’s own musings on making this journey of self-reflection. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Rosie H Sullivan

/ James Fenney

There’s a myriad of things wrong with the state of the music industry today, but credit where it’s due, as in a sense music has never been more accessible. A laptop can turn any bedroom, in any quiet little neighbourhood, into a recording studio. A song on the internet could reach and resonate with people in the most forgotten far flung corners of the world. Making music, like all art, is an act of expression. Telling your story and letting your voice be heard. In another time, a voice like Rosie H Sullivan’s might never have been heard outside of a few small rooms in the Outer Hebrides. Her story, her perspective, the artistic lens through which she sees the world, might have been lost to the wider world. Yet we live in a time when the intimacy of those cosy rooms can be shared with the masses, where the isolated islands she calls home can welcome a wealth of new visitors simply by closing their eyes and being swept away by her words. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Lily Agnes

/ James Fenney

How do you make a great album? Perhaps it involves songs coming together to tell a story, perfectly capturing a mood or theme, maybe doing something fresh and experimental, or simply packing it start to finish with big accessible hits. People have found and forged many alternate paths to make great albums over the years. But EPs are a different story. They are a relatively newer format, often lacking the same attention and prestige, and one which has primarily been used by up-and-coming artists. As such we’re presented with a far narrower path to take towards what makes a great EP. It needs to tell you all you need to know about an artist, and leave you wanting to hear more. A mission statement of their creative ambitions; well-rounded enough to showcase the broadest possible range of their talents, yet restrained enough to leave listeners longing for whatever may come next. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Ber

/ James Fenney

A big part of what draws me to support up-and-coming artists is the chance to see a work in progress. In a way it feels like reading the first draft of a story and having your future favourite character leap off the page for the first time, or getting a glimpse behind the scenes of a film in production before it hits the big screen and seeing how all the pieces come together. There’s an inherent joy in seeing the spark of an idea begin to take shape and form into something great. As far as music is concerned, hearing those first singles, those explorative early EPs, the build-up to a debut album where an artist finds both their sound and their confidence, is endlessly endearing. Often hearing a record that’s rough around the edges, but has heaps of promise and personality, feels far more rewarding than a fully polished product. A notepad full of scribbles says a lot more about a person than some aloof CV. And I’m Still Thinking About That, the debut EP from Minnesotan singer/songwriter Ber, is the most heart-melting example of this that I’ve heard in a good while. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Kitty Perrin

/ James Fenney

It feels like far too long since I’ve wholeheartedly promoted a new artist and sung their praises to the world – you know, the whole reason this blog exists in the first place. For whatever reason it’s become harder to find new music that excites me. So much out there just feels too familiar; scores of talented artists drawing from the same inspirations and chasing the same trends only to inevitably arrive at much the same destination. It’s hard for an act to stand out from the crowd, and even harder for me to put a finger on a way for them to do so. After all, it would be too much to reasonably expect every act to continually put out something new and unique, right? But in listening to the debut EP from Kitty Perrin, the answer suddenly reveals itself. Each of us is already unique; we all face our own trials and triumphs, viewed through our own perspective. Every artist has a story, one only they can tell, but it’s only those special few like Kitty Perrin that manage to so resoundingly imprint their identity into their work. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Jenny Kern

/ James Fenney

At this point it’s become easy to take these last couple of years for granted. We resign ourselves to keeping busy and trying to maintain routines without stopping to take stock of just how much strain we’ve been under. All the cracks in our psyche that have deepened, and the fresh ones that have formed, thanks to all the isolation and uncertainty. It becomes this scared little whisper in the void that we ourselves refuse to even acknowledge, never mind share with others. With her debut EP I Never Thought That You Were Listening, Canadian born singer/songwriter Jenny Kern superbly expresses the sense of solitude and deafening silence that we’ve all been facing; capturing the zeitgeist of the new normal and the lessons we can take forward from it. What’s more this Belwood favourite adorns her introspection with such cinematic synthscapes and mesmerising melodies. Evoking the eerie glow of city streets in the still of night, it paints the perfect expanse for Jenny’s poignant musings to echo against. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: The Greatest Endangered Thing

/ James Fenney

It’s rare to get a second chance at a first impression. In part because it’s equally rare for us to get a break from the hectic humdrum of modern life to afford us a moment for reflection and reinvention. But then again, it’s not every day that the whole world grinds to a halt, and offers up an unparalleled opportunity to look at things from a new perspective. It was an opportunity that transatlantic duo Samuel Taylor and Rebecca Van Cleave seized to the fullest, and in doing so found the missing piece, the essential capstone, for their latest musical endeavour. Embracing life in the slow lane while recording in the Peak District village of Tideswell, the pair developed a deeper appreciation for the beauty of nature around them, as well as for the profound power of human connections and the joy of collaboration. All the things that we all too often take for granted came into focus, and in doing so informed and inspired what would become their debut EP And You, And Me. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Emilia Tarrant

/ James Fenney

It’s always been said that your should “write what you know”, but what about when you find yourself in a state of not knowing? What about when things don’t turn out the way you hoped and expected they would, and you find yourself in an unfamiliar place you never expected to be? Or how about when you find yourself carried beyond your control by various ebbs and flows – of fate, of the whims of those who have your heart, of the confusing swirl of thoughts inside your own head – and are left unsure what the next day will bring, what then? Sometimes when you’re lost the best thing to do is to write what you don’t know; give voice to the uncertainty, take what catharsis you can from venting frustration at the fickleness of life, and just hope that you find solid ground further down the line. With her debut EP Honeymoon Phase, singer/songwriter Emilia Tarrant offers a candid window into her own battle with uncertainty and heartache. At a time when we all feel the need maintain a façade of us at our best and pretend to know what we’re doing, we have here an affecting and assured pop record for which you can’t help but lower your guard. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Zach Wood & Hollan

/ James Fenney

I don’t think I’ll ever stop being enamoured with, and enraptured by, the power that music has to bring us together. It has proven time and again to be a precious golden thread connecting us, especially so in a period that has left us all feeling isolated. A song can provide the same solace or release to countless people thousands of miles apart, it can forever imprint upon your memory a sense of time and place for moments shared, and when everything aligns sometimes one song is all it takes to fall in love. In this instance all it took was one demo finding its way to the right ears to forge a friendship, and ultimately lead to this stunning collaboration. Zach Wood stumbled upon Anna Manotti’s demo for ‘Water’ (under her moniker Hollan), and after several years of listening to each other’s music, the two friends finally met in 2019. New ideas flowing freely, but unable to take their creations on the road, instead they decided to hunker down and record what would become Cowgirland. The rest, as they say, is history, and through such fortunate twists of fate we were gifted with this superb record. Continue reading →

Spotlight!: Griff

/ James Fenney

While I try my best to keep my finger on the pulse, some artists rise to the top so fast that it’s easy to blink and miss them. No sooner did the name Griff appear on my periphery as one to watch, she was stealing the show at the BRIT awards and being held up as their rising star. While I may sadly be a little late to the party, it’s most certainly still a party I want to be part of, as her time in the spotlight is most assuredly deserved. With her debut release One Foot in Front of the Other we find the perfect mission statement of what makes Griff so rightly hailed as the UK’s next big pop act. Entirely written, performed and produced by her alone, so much of her personality is poured into this EP, offering assured performances and carrying a clear idea of who she is and where she’s going for anyone that listens. With her own unique style as a performer, a touching candour to her lyricism, and a knack for crafting memorable hooks, she ticks every box for what a pop act should aspire to be. Continue reading →