FEATURE
MUSIC
CEILING DEMONS: NEL UNLIT
Nel Unlit, the nine-piece supergroup of extremely talented North East-based musicians and storytellers released one of our favourite albums this year, Wake For The Dreaming has a constant delicate beauty and it’s a fitting soundtrack to the winter months! We were lucky enough to catch them live at Sound It Out Records for the album launch in Stockton and have seen them perform to a captivated audience a few times now. We highly recommend checking them out. We’ve also been blessed to collab on the B-sides for their latest single, True Things, with a lo-fi hip-hop remix of their song The Inn, Pt.1 and their breathtaking cover of our track The Rose. www.ceilingdemons.bandcamp.com www.nelunlit.wordpress.com
TOM JOSHUA: DRESSED LIKE WOLVES Image by Victoria Wai
KAY GREYSON TYNESIDE RAPPER KAY GREYSON REFLECTS ON A YEAR OF AWARDS AND NEW PARTNERSHIPS 2020 was a year in which it seemed everything that could go wrong, did. I’ve always been a positive person who looks for the good in everything (as hard as it might have been!) and at the beginning of the year, back in January, I was lucky enough to win the Alan Hull Award for Song Writing. The Alan Hull Award was established in memory of Alan Hull, the Newcastle born
Five years ago I started a chef job at the waiting room in Eaglescliffe where I met co-worker/waiter Rick Dobbing; a cardigan-wearing ginger bearded articulate lad. We bonded over music and he talked about Weezer, his band and how he never writes choruses. I got his album off Bandcamp and quickly found he was a lo-fi genius! The first song I heard was Trying To Walk Off Into The Sea But It’s Too Late, which is a pretty perfect offering. They are insane live! Stuff always goes wrong and everyone laughs then gets pretty moved. They have two absolute golden albums and I regard Rick as the best lyricist I know, I’d never tell him to his face though. www.tomjoshua.com www.dressedlikewolves.bandcamp.com
songwriter and founder member of North East group Lindisfarne, who died in 1995. I was very honoured to be selected, especially as it is an award that pertains to writing. Being a great songwriter has been a dream of mine since I began listening to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, among others, as a child. To be recognised in that way really made me feel like I was taking the first steps in achieving my goals. The award came with a £1,000 bursary that I used to buy a laptop. Most days, being a musician involves lots of admin and emails. I had been doing all of that from my phone, which was less than efficient, so having a good laptop has really changed the way I work! Also, this year I was signed to a management company called Soul Kitchen. This was another massive milestone for me which led to releasing my debut EP Paris with them in July. Paris was like a reintroduction to the world for me, after not releasing music for nearly three years. It was strange to do this at such a weird time in human history, but the warm reception and the opportunities that have come to me because of it, and in spite of everything going on, have been amazing! In 2021, I hope the world heads into its new normal and live music thrives once again, and that I can start to release some of the bangers I have hidden away for people to enjoy.
www.soundcloud.com/kaygreyson
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GEORGIA MAY: LIZZIE ESAU
Lizzie Esau is certainly an artist to shout about. When performing live she plays piano and sings and uses some backing instrumentals recorded by her band. It was a beautiful sound, she reminded me of Jorja Smith instantly. Since seeing her at Tyne Bank Brewery (when she was my support act) we have discussed working on some collaborations. Even the rough audio clip ideas she sent over were really crisp and beautifully sung; she has a wide range and a powerful voice. I was impressed to realise that Lizzie has quite a range of styles from ballad-like to gospel and pop as well as her features on electronic music as a top liner. I definitely think she’s an artist to look out for. I think she will do big things! www.georgiamay.uk www.soundcloud.com/lizzieesau
