Industry news & advice blog

MEI - 'Happy Man'

With London-based vocalist, songwriter, producer and bassist MEI already being heaped with praise from the likes of BBC 1Xtra, Earmilk, The Line of Best Fit, Clash and Gal-Dem, we were expecting big things from her latest single...and ‘Happy Man’ does not disappoint.

The soothing, mellow and superbly crafted song, enhanced by the delicate horn arrangement provided by Cassie Kinoshi, also has a beautiful lyrical sentiment, as MEI explains, “Happy Man was created at the keyboard with my song book. I was playing these chords and the song just flowed out. It's about acceptance when a relationship ends. I don't think I had even reached that place at the time but I was almost writing for my future self.”

MEI’s self-concocted strapline to describe her music, “honey for your ears, medicine for your fears” absolutely hits the nail on the head, and there’s certainly a healing element to her vocals, which have already featured on the FIFA 19 soundtrack, as well as Later with Jools Holland and at Lauren Laverne's BBC Maida Vale sessions, providing backing vocals.

Her new EP 'The Hard Way Around the Sun' has been championed by Jamz Supernova as one of her BBC 1Xtra Top 5 EPs, so be sure to take a listen. And MEI’s performance at We Out Here Festival last month was also a welcome return to the live circuit, “My favourite thing is to connect with my supporters live so I’m excited to be able to do that again soon.” Here’s to more live dates coming up - MEI will be playing at How The Light Gets In Festival on 19th September and is planning more gigs, not to mention plenty of writing and producing new material, ready for 2022. We can’t wait!

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DAAY - ‘Dream Kit’

Not shy of experimentation and taking risks, South London band DAAY like to build on an indie rock foundation and then see where their audio escapades take them. In the case of our chosen Spotlight track ‘Dream Kit’, it ventures into the realms of jazz, funk and soul, with an abundance of powerful saxophone and dynamic vocals leading the way.

Mind-bending and exhilarating, the sound of the song reflects its origins, “The track came about mostly during the night of a bad sleep earlier this year, which to date has been the quickest translation from idea to record for us. It started mostly with the lyrics and the beat, then after some sleep the rest was filled in in a relatively short space of time which was a very exciting experience.”

Their unique musical style has gone down a treat with blogs and radio alike, hitting Amazing Radio’s specialist playlist, and resulting in an interview on US radio station Arizona Kits 100.

Playing the O2 Academy Islington remains one of the band’s live high points, but with more gigs in the pipeline they could stand to topple this. They’ll be supporting The Lottery Winners at Oslo in Hackney on 23rd September, and another London gig is on the agenda so be sure to keep your eye on social media for details...not to mention a couple more equally experimental singles which will drop before the end of the year, to make sure we see 2021 out with a bang.

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Outline - ‘Cake’

Alternative pop duo Stanley and Macy have been friends since age 12 at school, and in 2016 brought their creative minds together to form Outline. Drawing on a vast range of influences including Laura Marling, MARINA, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Billie Eilish, Oasis and Halsey, and incorporating a variety of genres such as jazz, electronic and folk into their sound, the pair certainly have a knack for crafting an irresistible melody.

But what about the lyrical aspect of ‘Cake’? “In short, the track is about being in a relationship with someone ‘perfect’, but finding there’s something missing (they’re almost ‘too perfect’), which makes you realise it’s not going to work. The song’s title ‘Cake’ is never actually mentioned, but we used lots of double-meaning lyrics throughout the song, which refer to the different elements of baking a cake. This acts as a kind of metaphor for how the object of the song appears so ‘perfect’ - it’s as if they’d been designed by another being.”

Over the past year, Outline has drummed up lots of support; BBC Introducing: The South, BBC Radio London and Radio Reverb have been spinning their parade of singles to date. They’ve even had a shout out from Coldplay, who shared the video for their release ‘Citrus’, directed by VMA Award winner Mat Whitecross.

New music is always on the horizon for the pair, so it’s no surprise that they have another single hot off the press since ‘Cake’. ‘She’s the One’ is out now on all streaming platforms so go and investigate! Outline will also be playing live on 15th September at The Lucky Pig in Soho, be sure to get it in your diary.

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LELO - ‘Faceache’

After being off the radar since 2019, Leeds trio LELO have made a solid comeback with their delicious blend of indie-pop, mixed with flavours of shoegaze and dream-pop. Rather than using the various lockdowns over the past year to take to social media for live streams and listening parties, the band went off-grid and immersed themselves in writing and recording. And they emerge on the other side refreshed, transformed, and with a debut album ready to go, plus a delightfully balmy single ‘Faceache’.

Not, in fact, a song about everyone’s favourite social media platform, ‘Faceache’ was written as a kind of coping mechanism, as frontman Ronan explains “I'd been spending an increasing amount of time on my own due to one thing or another, and when I wasn't writing, I just found myself overthinking. I basically realised that I'd changed a lot since I was a kid or teenager (not exactly a mind-blowing discovery, I know!) - and whilst I thought I'd made some pretty positive progressions in myself growing up, I also felt that I'd lost this confident side that my younger self seemed to radiate. In hindsight, a lot of that confidence probably came from just being a cocky teenage lad, but I still thought it was a little bit of shame. Hence the lyric 'Went away to try and change, now I'm not safe socially'.”



Although they’ve been away for a little while, LELO have some valuable achievements to build on; a number 7 spot in the UK Vinyl Singles Chart for their first ever vinyl release, a smasher of a performance at Live at Leeds followed by a an invite to play a live set for BBC Introducing West Yorkshire. Not to mention, plenty of positive blog coverage including the likes of Clash and Getintothis. It’s just now down to the band themselves to get plugged in and step out into a brave new world, “It's just a case of figuring out our game plan, getting into the practice room again so that we're ready to gig when the time is right!”

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Jasmine Rodgers - ‘The Tempest’

Singer songwriter Jasmine Rodgers has skilfully found and struck the perfect balance between folk, blues and rock; her music radiating warmth, honesty and connection. Her career to date has seen her work with rock band Boa (who recently notched up 1.52 million streams on Spotify), support Scott Matthews and also Bad Company on tour, and unveil her album ‘Blood Red Sun’, which was also released on vinyl with the support of her fanbase who crowdfunded the project.

Her latest single ‘The Tempest’ was written about a turbulent time in a relationship, although Jasmine was surprised to find the song resonated with listeners and brought solace to them on a different level, “I wrote the track when I was going through a hard time in a relationship but I was hopeful that things would improve. During 2020 I played a series of livestreams and ‘The Tempest’ was the most requested of my solo work. I think the idea of a storm coming and then dissipating was hopeful during that year. I certainly feel that way. Storms always feel like a massive relief from tension, and they are so unremitting. I find them kind of beautiful.”

Recent gigs at the Sound Lounge and the Drawing Room to real live audiences have given Jasmine a boost, so hopefully we’ll be able to witness more of her intimate shows, complete with distinctive guitar picking, in future. With ‘The Tempest’ taking off on BBC Introducing, Jasmine assures us there is more new material on the way, and she plans to finish recording her EP ‘Dark Tides’ in the coming months, so watch this space.

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