Industry news & advice blog

Blánid - ‘Funeral Suit’

Perfectly showcasing her stunning and supernatural voice, Northern Irish singer songwriter Blánid’s latest single ‘Funeral Suit’ is a poignant, memorable song that will make those hairs on your arm stand up.

So it’s hardly surprising that her sublime and atmospheric songs have caught the attention of media and radio in the UK and Ireland, with airplay and reviews from the likes of BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ TV 1, Earmilk, Hot Press, Fresh on the Net, Chordblossom and beyond.

And let’s not forget the noteworthy and incredible opportunities which have come Blánid’s way in recent times; a UK tour with American folk icon Judy Collins, Ivors Academy selection for an International Women’s Day performance & YouTubeMusic songwriting camp, a National Gallery debut with Isabella Summers (Florence + the Machine), plus one particular “pinch me” moment for Blanid; performing on The Late Late Show on RTÉ 1 TV, an iconic Irish late night talk show hosted in Dublin.



But let’s wind back to ‘Funeral Suit’, one of many new songs which Blánid has ready to bestow upon us, as she shares how it came to life; “My friend and fellow artist, the wonderful Ciaran Lavery, reached out to me with the idea for Funeral Suit, and I loved it. We ended up writing both it and a sister track called ‘A Good Good Wife’ - which is being released in September. The tracks are two sides of the same coin, and explore the pressures of existing in a patriarchal world: one submits to these pressures (A Good Good Wife), while the other wrestles with them (Funeral Suit).”

With plenty of live shows in store over the coming months, “Getting out there and playing to new people is one of my favourite things to do”, make sure you keep on top of Blánid’s socials for more details. And in terms of new material, the next instalment that we can look forward to is the sister track to ‘Funeral Suit’ called ‘A Good Good Wife’, set for release on 11th September.

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Lilypads - ‘Too Young To Be Falling Apart’

Already crowned winners of Hot Vox’s Future Icon Competition last year, as well as playing a sold out headline show at the O2 Islington Academy, plus a gig at the iconic Bush Hall, East London trio Lilypads have definitely hit the ground running. With their debut single unveiled as recently as November 2023, they’re rapidly picking up support for their 60s and 70s tinged, lilting indie…and rightly so.

Their current single ‘Too Young To Be Falling Apart' is a mellow and endearing track which, despite its laidback feel, has a slightly gloomier meaning, as the band explain;

“'Too Young To Be Falling Apart' is about the search for motivation. It's easy to dream big, and even easier to put off doing anything about it. It confronts our inability to make a change within ourselves and our surroundings, while acknowledging how simple it could be to make a difference if we just took the first steps. It came about (as you might suspect) after languishing in a pit of procrastination for slightly too long. Which is never a good thing. 0/10 would not recommend. But just as every cloud has its silver lining, we emerged from the darkness with this song in our hearts, ready to share with the world!”

Luckily for Lilypads, their aforementioned song about apathy and struggling to find your place in the modern world has struck a chord with many, even winning over BBC Introducing’s Dave Gilyeat who called it “their first masterpiece".

With a summer of releases ahead, you won’t have long to digest ‘Too Young To Be Falling Apart’ before their next single 'Another One Waiting On Me' comes out on 9th August. There’ll be yet another new single dropping in September too, so keep it locked to the Lilypad socials to be the first to hear their fresh material.

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TinXshe - ‘Stand Up’

Hip-hop may not be the first genre that comes to mind when you think of Sheffield, but artist TinXshe is en route to change that with his authentic, underground rap sounds.

Already showered with airplay and love by BBC 1Xtra’s Theo Johnson, Christian Carlisle and Emily Pilbeam of BBC Introducing in Leeds & Sheffield, as well as Kiss FM’s Ellie Prohan, he’s also grown his reach and audience through brand sponsorship with the likes of Levi and Fred Perry.

His current single ‘Stand Up’ is accompanied by a bold and striking video, and TinXshe himself lets us in on how the song came about; “The track is mainly about me taking a stand! For me, it's about asserting myself in my musical journey and inspiring everyone around me. The meaning may resonate differently depending on who you are and your situationship as a listener, but the central theme is taking a stand and getting in the zone. I would definitely say I was inspired not only by the energy and charisma of the song referenced in my release (The Real Slim Shady) but also by my early influences in my music career. I've always been a big fan of songs that reference classics, and I felt this was a great way to do that. I wanted to bring a more exciting and fun element back into the music space.”



Already making waves on the live front, with performances at Liverpool Sound City, plus sister event Sound City festival in South Korea, a support slot for Mabel, and most recently shining in his hometown at Tramlines Festival, TinXshe has more shows on the agenda, and hopefully fresh material too. “I am excited for the coming months to continue growing as an artist, networking and releasing new music.” Watch this space!
 
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Bird - ‘What The Night Knows’

Multi-instrumentalist and singer songwriter Bird has unveiled her latest single ‘What The Night Knows’, an astounding track that feels fragile and otherworldly in parts, but builds to a majestic and resounding chorus, with bewitching orchestration throughout. Produced by the legendary Mike Hedges (The Cure, U2, Manic Street Preachers), the song also features on Bird’s short film ‘Wider Than The Sky’ which has received numerous awards at various film festivals around the world.

The reception to both the film and its accompanying music has marked a huge accomplishment for Bird, especially being the first soundtrack she has created. ‘What The Night Knows’ has also picked up plenty of complimentary reviews from Record of the Day, Wonderland and BBC Introducing.

Bird explains the ideas and inspiration behind the song, and how it transpired; “I wrote it with my Belgian friend Jeroen Swinnen in an old Tuscan villa that gave me vivid dreams. As a child I was quite afraid of the dark and due to my parents being ill I had to stay a lot in other people’s houses. I would look at patterns in the unfamiliar ceilings and imagine all sorts of things. As an adult the night represents something entirely different for me of course, as a musician it’s the time to perform and create. It’s also the time I ask some of my most important questions to myself, and so I really wanted to write a song about that. On the album version I've made of this track (not yet released) there is a tea cup stirring and count down at the beginning which pays homage to Jordan Peele’s film ‘Get Out’ which I saw during the time I was recording this track. I really felt the film connected with my song on some levels, hypnotism, a place between sleep and wake and questioning, having the strength to break through your own mental barriers.”



So far this year Bird has played on UK turf at Brighton’s Great Escape and also Black Deer Festival, but during September she’ll be heading overseas to Nashville for the Americana Fest, before moving onto Austin, Texas to do some writing and recording. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to wait patiently for new material from Bird. Later this month her ‘After Dark’ remix of ‘What The Night Knows’, made in collaboration with Sleepcub aka programmer/producer Pete Davis, will drop. And following that brand new single ‘Roy’, the first of 4 acoustic session tracks, is set for release on 20th September, so be sure to stick around.
             
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Pretty Ltd. - ‘I Get So Excited’

Drawing on their love of the 2000s pop punk and alt rock sounds, Dublin trio Pretty Ltd have merged this, along with influences such as Jamie Lenman, Reuben, Biffy Clyro, Queens of the Stone Age and Motion City Soundtrack, to form their own super-charged and vociferous version.

“I feel like we've kind of mixed the fun pop-punk energy with the maturity of alt-rock to make our brand of pop-rock.”

Their boisterous single ‘I Get So Excited’ showcases their tongue in cheek Irish craic, and the band divulge the story behind it; “I think it literally started with DJ (frontman) downpicking those first few chords and us all just getting hyped up and yippin and yeowin into the mics at practice until it exploded into that riff. Lyrically it comes from an ended relationship where both sides still want to be together but one side only wanting physical connection and the other wanting emotional connection. There's a lot of excitement and anxiety that comes with wanting to see someone but knowing they don't want it in the same way.”

Having recently supported NI indie-punks (and previous Spotlighters) Cherym, and songwriter and TikTok sensation Robert Grace (Sony Records), they’ve also garnered praise from Maximum Volume, Vanyaland, Soundsphere Magazine, Uber Rock and more.

The band even managed to sneak a prior single ‘High’ onto Today FM, one of Ireland’s primary radio stations, when one of the lads' girlfriends sent in a Spotify link to the station via WhatsApp. It was quickly halted after the first chorus when the station realised that the song was about doing drugs.

As for the next adventures on the horizon for Pretty Ltd, you can catch them this September on a 3 date tour, taking in Limerick, Cork and Dublin, supporting UK duo Soaper. Beyond that they’re in planning mode for their debut EP which they’ll start recording later this month. Aiming to unveil it in Spring 2025, it’s safe to say that more razor sharp pop punk material is coming our way.

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