Xbox Live - Music Room

Tonight I found myself in the audience of Music Room - an Xbox live programme exclusively available to Xbox aficionados. I was there as the plus one of a competition winner and purely to see my new favourite band MS MR. I had no idea I was about to be thrown in to a live TV experience - cameras in my face, the chance a microphone might be thrust at me at any point and three pretty famous music acts performing merely feet away from me.

Miles Kane

The line up was MS MR. Tom Odell and Miles Kane - three songs each with some interviews and standard TV links in between songs. It opened with Miles Kane - not my usual choice but live he was brilliant. Dapperly dressed in a skinny suit and with the arrogance and swagger of a Gallagher brother he owned the stage and the audience were beside themselves.

MS MR

However I was only interested in MS MR and conveniently we were stood front and centre of their set. They opened with Fantasy and being stood right in front of the lead singer meant I could hear every perfectly pitched note. The New York based duo are achingly hipster but not in a cringey East London way - they were just as happy dancing along to the other acts as they were singing their own songs. Their second song of the night 'Think of You' is the perfect break up song for anyone who wants to defiantly yell at their ex (but it is a surprisingly upbeat tune). The best moment for me though was their final song 'Hurricane' - the opening track of their debut album 'Secondhand Rapture' and my favourite. Awkwardly stood in front of the singer meant that I had to fight the urge to sing along. I couldn't. My evening was made though when she sang directly at me at the best point of my favourite song. What a brilliant Tuesday night.

Tom Odell

Geeky fandom aside, the other highlight of the evening was the incredible Tom Odell. 22 years of age and so talented. Most of the audience appeared to be there to see him and it's not surprising. The winner of the BBCs sound of 2013 it's clear that he's not going anywhere in a hurry.

The xbox music room show was one of the slickest live TV experiences I have encountered. We were in and out in two hours, there were no mistakes, the set was seamless and the music was brilliant. For an hour at least I was tempted to buy an Xbox, purely just to see myself on TV though, obvs.

Artist of the week 24 June 2013 - MS MR

New York duo MS MR released their debut album 'Secondhand rapture' in May. If you like moody female vocals, ethereal songs and hipster beats then this is the band for you. Personally I love, love, love them and I get to see them live tomorrow night so in honour of that here is 'Hurricane'




Read about them: http://www.msmrsounds.com/

Songs of the week 20/2/2013

This week I have mostly been listening to...

Rihanna - Stay

And still she keeps on churning out song after song. This one is actually quite good:




My favourite band of 2012, Of Monsters and Men, currently getting a lot of air play for this:

Of Monsters and Men - King and Lionheart



Still loving this from Scotland's Frightened Rabbit:

Frightened Rabbit - The Woodpile




And finally a little gem from Canadian indie band Rah Rah:



ENJOY!!

Artist of the week: Emily and the Woods

I'm not ready to talk about how I had tickets to see this band recently in a teeny tiny venue in Kings Cross. How I spent two hours waiting for them to come on stage, listening to below par support acts outstay their welcome but powering on through waiting for the main act because it would be so worth it to hear this lovely voice in a tiny space. How, when the trio finally came on stage I heard one song before having to admit defeat to illness and go home.  Not bitter, not at all....Still, the one song I did get to hear was magical and Emily Woods and her band fit nicely in to my obsession with the brooding girly genre of music that I do so love. So here she is singing 'Arrows' in a living room. Enjoy...



Find out more: https://soundcloud.com/emilyandthewoods

The Harlots, Two Years On...

The Harlots, debut gig, February 2011

I was flicking through an old diary the other day and discovered that it is very nearly two years to the day since London based band The Harlots played their debut gig at a little pub in Cricklewood, North London. On February 17th 2011 original members Kike and Sherwin played an acoustic set to a privileged few, otherwise known as their mates, in the back of the Crowne Pub.  Most of us had trekked there from the depths of South London and we acted like a bunch of over excited groupies as we wolf whistled the boys through their small set of songs. They did us proud and certainly held their own despite the small audience. However, fast forward two years and I recently found myself standing near the stage at the Mother Bar in Shoreditch, surrounded by people I didn't recognise, dancing along and listening to a polished 4 piece band loudly rock their way through a tight and professional set. Along with a distinct skinny jeans dress style, Kike and Sherwin have found themselves a mysterious heart throb drummer and an easy on the eye talented French bassist to complete the line up and The Harlots have begun to make a real name for themselves on the London music scene. In 2012 they toured Europe, made a music video, filmed a session for Loaded TV, recorded a single, mastered a record at Abbey Road and played over 40 gigs. 2013 looks set to be even bigger with plans for an EP, a gig at the infamous Koko in Camden and maybe even that coveted record deal if they play their cards right. All a far cry from the back of an empty pub in the middle of Cricklewood merely two years ago...

The Harlots, Mother Live February 2013

Back to February 2 2012 and the Mother Bar, or 'The Harlots very own cavern', as band member Kike described it - the boys put on a strong set. They have built up a superb list of songs and new number 'Gimme Love' is definitely a favourite among the female fan base with an element of Coldplay/Keane to it. 'Be Mine', 'The Thief and Me' and new song 'Do I, Do I' are all well written anthemic rock songs reminiscent of early Oasis and the Stone Roses. The band are definitely establishing themselves as a modern rock and roll band and with Radio 1 boss Andy Roberts, recently declaring that guitar music is set for a major comeback they couldn't have chosen a better time to make their mark. The Shoreditch venue is small and intimate and has become a regular haunt of the band since they signed with Feed Your Head management last year. However their brand of guitar driven music needs to be turned up loud and I am very excited to hear them play Koko on 29 March. This will be a gig not to be missed, for sure...!

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Read: www.theharlotsmusic.com 

The Blog is Back

It's definitely time to start blogging again...

Daughter live at Islington Assembly Halls

Daughter are definitely a band to watch. They have been quietly gathering pace over the past year, touted by Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, supporting Ben Howard on tour and producing two beautiful EPs. The haunting vocals of Elena Tonra (joined by Igor on guitar and Remi on drums although they mix up their instruments quite a bit) lit up the Islington Assembly Halls last night as Daughter played their last live show before hitting the festivals this summer and hopefully recording a full album.

The band discreetly arrived on stage and kicked off with their song 'Run'. From the off it was obvious just how strong Elena's voice was and the venue could not have been more accommodating to her beautiful melodies. It is rare at a gig to hear the audience in stunned silence to the point where you could have heard a pin drop but such was the effect when they played 'Love' and 'Landfill' and particularly when Elena went solo on track 'The Woods'.

There was a mutual understanding in the room that we were lucky to be there and the majority of the gig found the audience gazing up in awe at the sheer talent we were witnessing. Igor was an exceptional guitarist and drove the energy on the stage. The crowd livened up on 'Youth' and I definitely saw some audience particpation when they played 'Candles' .

Even when they showcased a new song and stopped after the first verse because the key was slightly out this didn't matter. After a quick chat and a re-tune Elena set off again like a consummate professional. Pitch perfect, unnerved and so wonderful. There is a Florence Welch type innocence about Elena: shy and a tad nervous when interacting with the crowd it is obvious she can't quite believe her luck that something she likes doing so much (writing beautiful songs and singing them with her bandmates) has gathered a following and there seemed to be a sort of amazement that we were all there to see her. However the nerves subsided when the music played and this is when she seemed most at home - lost in her own little world of hauntingly beautiful songs.

If you like your music folky and mesmerising and you want to listen to something really special then check out Daughter at various festivals this summer and buy the EP's. You won't be disappointed.

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http://www.facebook.com/ohdaughter