Cerian releases her wonderful debut EP 'Caught In The Dark'

‘Caught in the Dark’ is the highly anticipated debut EP by London-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cerian. Described as “the purest voice on radio” and tipped by Music Republic Magazine as one of their “ones to watch” in 2019, Cerian now releases her debut EP ‘Caught in the Dark’ - a series of songs written in the middle of the night. A lifelong insomniac, Cerian is almost completely nocturnal, and these profoundly personal songs have grown out of her struggle with both the literal and internal darkness felt in the isolation of the early hours of the morning, when she would stay awake writing until dawn. The intensity of these emotions can be heard in the powerful songs that grew out of this struggle.

Written just as she was trying to gain the confidence to share her own music with the world for the first time, the first track on the EP -’Wasteland’ - explores the feelings of loneliness and paralysing fear. Cerian explains: “In the dead of the night, terrifying existentialism takes over: seemingly frozen in time, you feel unable to traverse the space between where you are and where you want to be. The precipice of the unknown future is calling, but you don’t know if you’re going to fly or fall if you can find the courage to jump.” Building on the EP’s themes of time, light and dark, second track ‘Seasons’ is a haunting and ethereal ode to lost time and a first love, opening on five-part harmonies reminiscent of a vocoder, and a perpetual motion guitar part which underpins this uniquely dark piece of moving dream-pop.

The title track of the EP ‘Caught in the Dark’ is a darkly powerful song with a cinematic build showcasing Cerian's incredible range and vocal dexterity. Written at a time of personal darkness, this song explores the colours within that darkness and the search for light. Ending with a ray of hope in its last line “I felt the sunrise from a darkened cry”, fourth track ‘Our Love’ Is picks up from this point and represents the lightest moment on the EP, both thematically and sonically, as a celebration of love and light. ‘Our Love’ Is is a beautifully delicate, rousing and life-affirming acoustic pop song showcasing a duet of two perfectly matched voices singing of the triumph of their love. As with Wasteland, it was recorded with collaborator Robert Taira Wilson, and features Wilson’s intricate guitar playing intertwined with Cerian’s piano playing. The final track, ‘Carry Me Home’, is a beautifully poignant pop ballad, recorded live with just voice and piano. Inspired by the words “time hath overtaken me”, ‘Carry Me Home’ is an evocative reminder of the fleeting fragility of life.

This group of brooding songs are tinged by the mystery and beauty of the night, and this is echoed in Cerian’s innovative and atmospheric songwriting and production. Cerian brings together epic soundscapes of vocal harmonies, harp, piano, orchestral drums and electric guitar, featuring a cinematic palette which may be likened to London Grammar and Active Child. Lyrically, Cerian draws inspiration from literature and poetry to craft her own vivid and poetic lyrics which make every song a compelling story. Her combination of crystalline vocals and heartfelt delivery take the listener on a raw and honest journey which is a triumph of dark ethereal indie folk-pop.

Further to writing and producing all the songs on this EP, Cerian has also created all the art, paintings and visuals that accompany it. Each song is represented by a colour, and the EP journeys through the different colours sought and found in the search for light. The EP image is a photo with a projection of one of Cerian’s paintings encompassing every colour in that journey.

Cerian has sung with an impressive array of artists, including U2, Radiohead, Sam Smith, Thom Yorke, Imogen Heap, Neneh Cherry, Tom Chaplin, Nakhane, Charlotte Church, Laura Mvula and Amber Run. Once she began performing her own work as a solo artist, her vocal dexterity and range - combined with emotive and truthful songwriting - quickly resulted in comparisons to Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. Her first four singles have garnered glowing reviews, BBC Introducing support and extensive radio play and Cerian has quickly gained a reputation as a captivating live performer from appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Bush Hall and two sold-out headline shows at The National Portrait Gallery.

Cerian is celebrating the EP launch with a live-stream from her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cerianmusic) on Saturday 4th April at 7pm, in place of the gig which was originally planned. Everyone is welcome to watch for free!

You can listen or purchase a copy of Cerian’s new EP from the links below >>>

https://smarturl.it/caughtinthedarkep?fbclid=IwAR0UyZvTPdNl-5GNp9hzaa_l0c3w1WLPhanp9xd52VrJHMR67ZIZxxAwBfk

"Absolutely wonderful.” - BBC Introducing

“Gorgeous.. fantastic.. quite sensational.. the purest voice on radio." - Justine Greene (BBC Radio)

“Nothing short of stunning.” - Paul Sexton (Journalist, BBC)

“A range to her voice that angels dream of.” - BBC London

“Cerian has that rare type of compelling vocal that effortlessly captures its listener's attention with its extraordinary range and purity.” - When the Horn Blows

The award winning Lucas and King to release self titled debut album

Crowned ‘Fender Undiscovered Artist Of The Year 2018’ Southampton based duo Bo Lucas & Hayleigh King are set to release their highly anticipated self titled debut album on 23rd November. ‘Lucas & King’ promises to be a great fusion of Blues, Country, Sixties Pop and Roots. Their album launch will be at the prestigious Green Note in Camden on 26th November

With influences including Peggy Lee, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, The Kinks and Dolly Parton, the album features beautifully complex lyrics, sung by the sultry stand-out vocals of lead singer Bo Lucas, made all the brighter by Hayleigh King’s sympathetic and tasteful guitar accompaniment which in turn creates the cinematic backdrop of their sound. The album features elements of sixties pop, surf, garage and blues that take you from the empty and confined opener of ‘Brunswick Place’, through to the realities of love and life in ‘Maybe I Do’, to an existential crisis in ‘Shop Girl’, finishing on the dark noir obsessive ‘Nothing On You’. The duo have managed to create a timeless, but also fresh sound that is entirely their own. Upon meeting in Brighton at university, Bo Lucas (lead vocals and acoustic guitar) and Hayleigh King (electric guitar and backing-vocals) quickly cemented a musical connection, writing their first song ‘Crazy Heart’ within 15 minutes of first playing together.

Their DIY approach to music saw them playing at open mic's and local shows, resulting with the opportunity to tour with and open for Ray Davies - 50th anniversary tour, back in 2014. At short notice they burnt CDs on laptops, with handmade brown paper & cardboard sleeves stuck together, hand stamped with “Lucas & King” and handwritten track listings ready for the tour. In just a few years Lucas & King have stacked up many accolades and awards; the duo were finalists in Glastonbury Emerging Talent 2017 which saw them perform on Rabbit Hole, Avalon and Acoustic stage. Then in July of this year they were crowned winners of the prestigious ‘Fender Undiscovered Artist award’, hand picked by a panel of judges from over 2000 contestants; prize including a trip to LA, with gigs at the Fender factory in Corona California.

Lucas & King have also supported many respected overseas artists, such as Blind Boy Paxton, John Murry, The Americans and Colter Wall, all of whom have become avid fans of this very special duo.

You can pre-order the new album in the link below from Bandcamp

https://lucasandking.bandcamp.com/album/lucas-king

https://www.lucasandking.com/

Sarah Darling to release exciting new album in January

LCM favourite US singer-songwriter Sarah Darling is scheduled to release her fifth studio album in January 2019. You can pre-order the album along with her next single on October 26th.

Having been very busy laying the groundwork for her new album with Mark Bright ((Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban) in her hometown of Nashville, Sarah has relocated to London, where she has spent the summer working with acclaimed writer/producers Ash Howes (Kylie, Gabriella Aplin) and Pete Hammerton (The Shires, Wandering Hearts, Shane Filan) and with songwriters including Shelly Poole (Paloma Faith, Mel C, Sam Bailey) and Jessica Sharman (The Shires, Ward Thomas).

On her affinity with the UK and her latest stay, Sarah comments: “Over the past couple of years, I have spent an ever greater amount of time in the UK. While Nashville will always remain my musical base, the UK has become a second home to me, both musically and in spirit. I feel so fortunate to be working with such talented musicians and artists in the UK, and I am excited to share the new direction of my music with fans everywhere.”

Sarah’s music in 2018 has been growing and evolving, building on the success of her breakout album 'Dream Country' released in 2017. We can't wait to hear the new album

The excellent Music Makers Festival in London on October 6th and 7th announces artist line-up

The excellent Music Makers weekend festival set for the 6th & 7th October in the wonderful Half Moon in Putney, has just announced it's artist line up and stage times. This is a super London festival, if you haven't already discovered it before. It's organised and curated by Albert Mann and Manoja Ullmann. The full review of last years event is included for you on our LCM website.

This years line-up includes long term LCM favourites Danni Nicholls, Two Ways Home, Michele Stodart and Albert Mann and his band. As well as Hope, Jack O'Rouke, Jacko Hooper, Treetop Flyers, Aka George, Lucy May Walker, Declan Greene, Mide, Howard Rose and Kim Hayden.

Limited 'Early bird' full weekend passes are very reasonably priced at £20. All available tickets options including day tickets are included in the link below for you.

http://www.musicmakersfestival.com/tickets/

LCM Recommended: Zialand - 'Unbridled & Ablaze'

Following her recent singles ‘Landslide’ and ‘Shelter’, the latter of which was played on BBC Scotland, BBC Ulster, Soho Radio, Resonance and Juice FM (Brighton), the Norwegian artist ZIALAND (aka Zia Meyer) will release her new album, ‘Unbridled & Ablaze’ on 8th June. 

A new single entitled ‘Running Cold’ is also scheduled for the early summer. Zialand describes 'Running Cold' as “a song about a friend of mine and the deeply painful relationship she experienced with her alcoholic dad. Her pain was a complicated tapestry woven over time, blended together by watching him distance himself from the people closest to him and her profound love for him and the need for a dad. But her needs were never met because he always chose the bottle. She was the one who found him, barely conscious as he was slipping into a coma. Blood on the floor, on the walls and in the bed. She was the one who cleaned it all up, stayed by his hospital bed and was there as he fought the inevitable. His death wasn’t pretty. "I wanted to honour her and pour some love onto all that pain by writing her this song, bringing a kind of witnessing and a reckoning to it.”

Other highlights on the album include ‘Fever’ (“about living in exile, the vulnerability & precariousness of life in that existence, not knowing what comes next”), the aching ballad ‘Don't Look Down’ (“about a good man losing his partner to illness and his way of loving her is by showing up and being there in all the ways he can”), the powerful ’Shelter’ ("a love letter to my daughter”) and the intense torch song ‘Cleaved’ (“longing for your soulmate, the one you know is out there but not the ‘where’ or ‘how’ or ‘when’ you will meet”).    

Zialand thinks of the album as being about "‘in-between' moments, when something is ending and something new beginning. That moment where you finally give way to the transmutation. For anything to move and transcend, something else needs to die or be let go of. To me, these moments are imbued with both the deepest of grief as well as a most delicate beatitude and rapture. I think I’ve always been on the hunt for these moments because they are so elusive."

ZIALAND is a Norwegian musician, singer-songwriter and producer. Her music is intimate and emotionally charged with a variety of influences such as Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel and Billie Holiday.  Making her way to LA in her early 20’s to pursue her passion for music, she sang and collaborated with jazz composer/musicians Marcus Miller, Chris Botti and John Beasley, plus bassist Kristian Dunn (of El Ten Eleven). Songs from her debut album gained airplay on key local station KCRW and were placed in indie movies as well as TV shows like ‘Felicity'.  

However, her burgeoning career as a singer-songwriter stalled in 2002 when she had to leave LA abruptly with her young child due to an abusive relationship, travelling halfway around the world before finally ending up in Australia. But, leaving the hotbed of LA and slipping into the shadows also provided unforeseen opportunities, such as spending more time in various studios, writing and composing as well as learning how to mix. Music became her anchor, “the only thing I could hold on to at times,” Zialand reflects.

Finally able to return to Norway a decade later, Zialand released her second album, ‘The Light Below’ in 2014. The majority of it was recorded in Australia while still living in hiding, with the Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and guitarist Erlend Saeverud helping to give the highly personal jazz tinged record an atmospheric, filmic backdrop. Meeting the British producer/musician John Fryer (Nine Inch Nails, This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode) resulted in her co-writing two songs for his recent Black Needle Noise project. She also worked with LA producer David Sardy (LCD Soundsystem, Oasis) singing on the score of the movie ‘Bright’ (starring Will Smith and Noomi Rapace), which was released in late 2017.

“With all these difficult years behind me, it is nice to finally have the freedom to create and share my music again,” says Zialand.

Lindsay Ells’s ‘The Project’ To Get UK Physical Release 9th March, Ahead Of C2C & UK Tour

Following her long-awaited return to the UK & Ireland last October, Lindsay Ell - one of the most highly anticipated acts of this year’s Country to Country (C2C) Festival in London, has confirmed a UK physical release for her critically acclaimed debut album ‘The Project’ (BMG/BBR) on March 9th 2018; led by the US hit single ‘Waiting On You’. Ell is due to perform on various stages across the O2 Arena during C2C - including a set on the prestigious BBC Radio 2 stage, and a Satellite Stage performance in the main arena on Sunday 11th March - before heading out on the road for further UK tour dates.

10th March - C2C Festival, O2 Arena London
11th March - C2C Festival, O2 Arena London
13th March - O2 ABC 2, Glasgow (C2C Roadshow)
14th March - O2 Institute 3, Birmingham (C2C Roadshow)
15th March - The Ruby Lounge, Manchester (C2C Roadshow)

For the rising star, the debut, which hit the #1 slot on the Nielsen SoundScan country albums chart in the US, has been a long time coming... sent on a mission of personal discovery to unleash the vibrant, soul-bearing country artist long predicted by fans and critics alike, Ell’s journey is now complete – and ‘The Project’ is the result. Comprised of 12 gripping, heart-on-her-sleeve tracks and produced by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, the album is the musical calling card Ell’s been working toward her whole life – from her childhood in Calgary, Alberta; through her time opening shows for blues legend Buddy Guy; and even with attention-grabbing country singles “Trippin’ On Us” and “By the Way.”

“I feel like I’ve finally found myself,” Ell beams about ‘The Project’. “I’m a better guitar player, I’m a better singer, I’m a better songwriter. I’m just a different artist, and I’ve never felt about music the way I do now.” Grooving, diverse, and emotionally charged, it’s easy to hear what Ell means. ‘The Project’ reveals every aspect of her abundant talent – from her fiery guitar prowess to her crisp, inviting vocals ... and even her new knack for vulnerable song craft.

It’s funky, bluesy, and full of pop-country sweetness, but also delicate and – at times – brutally honest, as Ell’s heart is placed front and center on each track. She embraces the anything-goes fun of country’s future but also holds fast to its traditions, focusing on real instruments and co-writing nine of The Project’s songs to create something both unique and self-assured. For the first time, Ell’s music feels 100 percent “Lindsay,” and part of the reason for that is the growing up she’s done over the past few years. 

The young singer-songwriter has traveled the world with artists like The Band Perry - including her first visit to the UK in 2013 - and Luke Bryan; showcased her multi-instrumental dexterity as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country; returned to the UK for a headline tour in 2015; and is currently trading guitar solos with superstar Brad Paisley on his Weekend Warrior World Tour.

“I really believe everybody has their own story and their own path of brilliance ahead of them,” Ell explains, hinting at the her own winding journey. “It’s a song of not settling for things, careers, or even emotions that you’re having, just because they happen to you all the time. It’s about knowing you’re meant for something more special than that.”

With her long-awaited album debut, Lindsay Ell has discovered what she was meant for, and who she really is. Her next “project” will be to pass that message on.

The Henry Girls release new album - Far Beyond The Stars

The wonderful sister trio Karen, Lorna and Joleen McLaughlin for Malin released their 3rd album 'Far Beyond The Stars' on the 3rd March. This excellent 13 track album is another tour de force from The Henry Girls. Rapidly gaining many fans both in Ireland and the UK, the sisters have recently supported Seth Lakeman on part of his UK Tour, bringing their music to a wider audience.

Lorna McLaughlin explained the inspiration behind their third studio album.

“We recorded the album in Malin in our aunts’ house. It’s a 13 track album and it was recorded in two stages. we recorded five songs in a week at the beginning of 2016 and then we recorded the remaining eight songs, also in a week, in August.

“The songs on this album have a range of themes - grief, loss, mental illness, hope, romance, motherhood, relationships and a song dedicated to refugees.

“The album title, Far Beyond the Stars, comes from one of the album songs with the same name; it’s a song about losing someone and the comforting idea that we will meet again in the afterlife,” she said.

The new album is produced by long time collaborator Calum Malcolm, who has worked with the girls since 2011.

“We have established a great working relationship with him, having worked on three albums and two EPs with him since 2011. He is very straight with us, which is good. He has an incredible ear and he’s so musical, plus he is a very funny man too! We love working with him.

The Henry Girls are currently touring.....catch them if you can.