Runnin With My Rhythm

I've been following Nick as a friend on Facebook for some years now before realising Sacr è  bleu, as a music artist  I'd never given him a much deserved write up, with a new album looming it seemed only right to make amends.  Welsh singer-songwriter Nick Ward returns on a confident new frontier with his seventh studio album, Everybody Knows The Dice Are Loaded , due this summer. Known for his genre-spanning roots—from folk and country to alternative and rock—Ward has a storytelling strength that's up there with the best, no surprising then that some of his influences include  legends such as Neil Young, Elvis Costello, Glen Campbell, The Beatles and Hank Williams .   P icking up a guitar at just 14, his journey has been anything but an overnight success. Every milestone has been hard-earned, from years of graft to a breakthrough moment in 2009 when he was signed by Audiofile Records. which he later took over. and still runs today   But that initial...

If Oasis ever took a detour through the world of hip-hop, the result might sound something like Man Like Chez. With a distinctly northern, no-nonsense flow and lyrical style that hits with honesty and grit, Chez brings a refreshing rawness to the scene. His songwriting is real, relatable, and unapologetically authentic. Throw in his skills as a DJ and producer, and you’ve got a multi-talented creative with his teeth sunk into a whole platter of artistic pursuits. Real name Andy, Chez adopted his now-familiar moniker at the age of nine. “My brother is even Little Chez,” he laughs, “It’s that classic northern thing where your nickname comes from the first syllable of your surname. So when it came to picking an MC name, it was a no-brainer.”  With a new album now available, it feels like the perfect time to talk about what pulled me into Chez’s orbit in the first place. I’ve been following his journey since the release of his 2023 EP Madblo, and it was the track Amateurs that firs...

I do like an artist/band that takes a risk and doesn't give a shit whether it's popular or not, whether it will get radio play or not, they just make the music they want to make and you can either love it, leave it or bog off, and that's one of the reasons I have time for  Helefonix , she doesn't fit in, she stands out, having released what seems like a copious amount of offerings including Singles and E.Ps since  bursting  onto the scene Tada stylee only last year I was keen to hear her latest, the 11 track debut album  "Nature's Grace", you never  quite know what you're going to get with Helefonix other than it will be different and I have to admit the first thing that sprung to mind on opening track "Dawn Chorus" was "What the Fffffff?" There were birds, lots of them 9.09mins to be precise, and not of the two legged, large chested gobby variety, I suppose the clue was in the title but then I'm not the sharpest of beaks ? I re...

It only seems like yesterday I was reviewing the poptastic debut of  Watfords  very own teen writer, musician, producer Lew Elliott after a chance meeting during Lockdown last year and the discovery that he was a neighbour, and here he is again with  debut E.P "Spirits Up.  First track up is "Lover" and what I've gaged since meeting  Lew is, he not only has a knack of writing catchy, memorable intros, he also has an annoying habit of writing that one line that holds your brain hostage like it or not  and then escapes out of your mouth, and that was the very reason I was given dodgy looks in the supermarket checkout queue the other day on    realizing  I was mumbling "She's not my lover, lover, lover, lover" Oops! I dare you not to succumb to the same fate?  Second track up is " Right With You (RWY) " and as if on cue there goes that intro and instrumental hook, it's got such an upbeat summer vibe with a production that wouldn't sound o...

    Let  a mischievous   bull loose in a china shop, Out the way I'm coming through Stylee  and you have the sound of The Sheratons,  Raving And Drooling  is   kickass exhilarating, an overdose of B12 injections, and despite my bones saying differently I feel like 17 again and upfront at one of their gigs .                                                      Describing themselves as an indie rock band  with frontman & Guitarist Kane Bulleyment, Emma Liu on drums, Finley Ryan on Guitar and Alex Creasy on Bass, this four piece from Leeds UK are deservedly gaining attention with support from local and national radio stations including Steve Lamacq BBC Radio 6  & BBC Introducing to name just a few. This young band with an average age of 20 caught the attention of Producers at Sugar House ...

If you're someone that has trouble getting motivated, then check this out...or look away now?  Since lockdown Electronic muso Helefonix aka Helen Meissner has not only taught herself music production, but since her first release "Liberation" back in August 2020 she's gone on to release Two EPs a number of singles, been all over the papers whilst also permeating the airwaves via various radio stations including  BBC three counties where legendary presenter Mike Naylor has been super supportive of her sound. Another super supportive has been   Cambridge 105  where h er track "Joyride" has been in their radio chart for nineteen weeks and at number one for over half that time, plus it received a record breaking 4703 votes in just one week leading radio presenter Tim Willett to call it the anthem of lockdown, she's had a name change from MidLifeMix to Helefonix, won the Clouzine Best Electronic dance EP and is just about to release her third EP Orchestral ...

There is very little in Life that can shift my mood from "Meh" to feeling as though I've downed 3 double shot Americanos while bouncing on a trampoline, but hey, that's what happened at the start of the year when an email popped up from Rap/Hip-hop outfit "The Org" to say they were about to drop their debut album "Still A Long Way To Go" . It took all of a nano second  to reply "Send it over"  As they say in their bio "The Org are an inspirational group whose members Shawn "B Down" Chapman and Clinton "360" Smith will help save souls through music" Having reviewed  their Single back in 2017 a new offering felt long overdue and I couldn't wait to wrap my ears around it.  I've always rated these guys highly and if like me you're into that quality old school vibe? I'm happy to report this 15 track feast delivers.  First up is spoken word "Hannah's intro" and it couldn't be any ...

If there's any  positives to come out of Lockdown, it's that people have got to connect with their community more and speak to neighbours they'd never spoken to before, and I for one was surprised to find  that just a few doors down from me lived the talented Lew Elliott, and it just so happened he was releasing his debut single "Spinning"  seemed rude not to review it really?  The impressive thing about Lew, who is  studying music production at West Herts College is that he didn't just write the track, proving that men can multitask after all  he sang, played guitar and produced it, and as Pop offerings go it's a track he should be proud of. He certainly knows how to craft a song, musically, lyrically and vocally and produce it extremely well. While I rarely offer up a review at the start of a young persons journey as I like to watch them gain some experience and grow a bit first. Lew and his track "Spinning"  were worth making an exception for...

So picture the story if you will? Girl from one band and boy from another band who happen to know each other meet up and chat  about recording a Christmas song that girl has written ...fast forward 10yrs ( And I thought I was slow?)  girl, a.k.a Vocalist/Guitarist Louise Eastlock stumbles upon the song again and  writes  a new verse especially for 2020 , only this time she books a studio too and calls upon boy, a.k.a  Bassist  Matt Newman and they called upon Drummer Toby Balson and backing vocalists Sophie Gregory and  Krysia Newnan and The Eli-Lillies were formed and the song "Christmas is the  season of Love"  finally got recorded...Hurrah! But wait,... that wasn't the end?  The band who describe their sound as Brit/Pop, Indie 90's say the song is an anti pill shaming song that encourages  people to get the help and treatment they need and deserve If their  brain doesn't produce  enough neurotransmitters on it...

  It's a slightly longer article this time for reasons that will become clear,  as well as giving artists/bands a music platform in the form of an interview/ review, there's also a  human element  and in some cases subjects that deserve the time and space, so grab a cuppa or something stronger and I'll begin?  As  "Birds"  taken from the folky roots based   "Waiting For Leaves"  album scrolled by on my Twitter feed, I hit play and went from slouched to instant upright, mouth open and  a little intake of breath, also known as a gasp, not even a coffee has me moving that quickly, I  could've sworn I'd stumbled across the captivating  angelic vocals of  Lucinda Drayton , she of  "A hundred thousand angels" toonage?  Turns out I was wrong, which as you know, as a woman, doesn't happen very often?   This  celestial sound was coming from an artist called Nic Evennett and from the moment the alb...