I came across Marika Hackman by chance when I went to see the supporting Bella Spinks at Komedia in Brighton on the first date of Marika's first headline tour on November 26th. Lout Promotions.
A self confessed slightly awkward stage presence between songs; quickly vanishes as each song quickly swept the intimate audience into silence. Marika has a very strong and seemingly effortless tone to her voice which is interesting and soothing. I would absolutely love to see her accompanied by a band!
There was a real sense of early Laura Marling performances about her.
She got a well deserved encore, but declared that she had no more songs and would learn some more.
Get a free covers ep here:
Certainly an artist I'll be keeping an eye on and seeing again very soon...
The Staves live are just incredible. They have a few cracking tunes and their heavenly harmonies are so refined and seemingly effortless. The kind of thing you'd only get from growing up singing together from when first they could hold a note. I first came across them last year and was left with a lasting impression. I also witnessed a great performance from them at Bushstock.
They got their first play on BBC Radio1 by Fearne Cotton this week and their ep 'Mexico' is out on December 11th. You can get a free download of a couple of live tracks from their website.
2012 looks set to be an interesting year for the Staveley-Taylor sisters. They just finished their first UK headline tour with the last show in Brighton, which I had the privilege of attending. They will follow this up by touring the USA with Civil Wars, before returning to tour with Michael Kiwanuka.
Here is the video to the single 'Mexico' from the ep.
So, after dabbling in a few genres young Sam Mcgarrigle from Brighton has found a style of making music that is on a par with any pop chart regulars in terms of catchiness, but with a refreshing lo-fi sound. Sam seems to have the gift of not only knowing what to take from what has influenced him, but he seems to have been able to piece them together in such a way as to create something really special with his debut release 'Teen Jamz' Ep.
The EP sent the blog world alight with excitement and intrigue earlier this year.
I've read somewhere that the initial creative 'spark' for his sound was a chance finding of an ELO greatest hits cassette in a charity shop. I gather that was his initial inspiration and he then brought his take along with all of his other influences.
I really look forward to hearing what he comes up with next.
He has recently been touring the UK and Europe with Yuck and Metronomy.
Keep an eye on his website and facebook for upcoming shows in 2012. I hear that he'll be over in America for SXSW and you can catch them for free at these UK Vice magazine launches with FANZINE.
Lianne La Havas first caught my eye/ear way back in April supporting the charismatic Marques Toliver. Review here.
She has since gone on to appear on Jools Holland, where she made quite an impression on Bon Iver who decided to take her on tour in the US and Canada.
Lianne has a very soulful smoky voice and a delightful rhythmic way with her electric guitar, which I believe is named 'Connie'. Her first UK tour sold out and even had venues upgraded to accomodate the demand for tickets. She has four dates at The Social in London throughout January leading into February which have all sold out already, but you still have a chance to catch her at The Borderline, London where she'll be playing as part of HMV's Next Big Thing.
Her debut ep 'Lost & Found' was released in November and an album looks set to follow early in 2012.
You can also get a free live ep on her website! www.liannelahavas.com
No, not his Daughter, but one of our favourite acts this year fronted by Elena Tonra. After an epic tour throughout the end of this year and a debut top 10 album, Ben Howard is back in the UK in February.
They played a few shows together across Europe and will join forces again in the UK. The tour is already mostly sold out.
Dates are as follows:
13th February – Truro, Hall For Cornwall
14th February – Portsmouth, Pyramids
15th February – Brighton, Concorde 2
17th February – Manchester, Ritz
18th February – Edinburgh, Queens Hall
19th February – Glasgow, Oran Mor
20th February – Newcastle, Northumbria University
22nd February – Norwich, Waterfront
24th February – London, Shepherds Bush Empire
25th February – Oxford, Academy
27th February – Leeds, Cockpit
28th February – Birmingham, HMV Institute
29th February – Bristol, Academy
Here's what they got up to last time
I won't go on too much about Daughter as I'm sure if you've read this blog before you'll already have an idea what she's about. If not click here for an old article I wrote.
I will however mention that here follow-up ep to 'His Young Heart' is out and is entitled 'The Wild Youth'. Both ep's can be purchased here
Nathaniel Rateliff offered a taster of what's to come from him next year, playing three tracks from his next album 'Falling Faster Than You Can Run' on OpenAir Public Radio, Colorado. He plays “Three Fingers In”, “Right On" and “When Do You See” as well as talking about touring Europe with Mumford and Sons, what’s on his rider and his biggest rock star moment this year.
