Indiana makes Top 20 with debut album

February 2015

She knew it; Indiana predicted that her debut album, No Romeo, would be number 17 when the chart was announced. “I was in the shower, the glass was all steamed up and I said to myself ‘write the number you think you’re going to be in the glass and you will be that number,’”says the singer-songwriter who released the album just a week ago.


“And I wrote 17. I wish that, if it was some sort of witching power, that I’d written number one,” she laughs.


The 27-year-old mum of two celebrated at home in Long Eaton by drinking tea and eating chocolate. Last night she was at the cinema with her boyfriend while mum babysat.


“I’m really pleased to have a Top 20 album, it’s what I was hoping for,” she says.


The news came at the end of a busy and anxious week for Indiana, real name Lauren Henson.


“I’ve found it really difficult to sleep,” she admits.


The album was launched in London, followed by a singing and signing session at Nottingham’s Rough Trade in Broad Street, radio and TV interviews and using her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to promote the album.


“I’ve been busy on social media more than I have ever,” says Indiana, whose music is dark, electronic pop.


“I think people are sick of seeing my face because I posted so many selfies,” she laughs.


The success, the first for a Nottingham artist in the album chart since Jake Bugg’s Shangri La reached number three two years ago, comes just three years after her very first gig in the Old Market Square.


That was part of the Future Sound of Nottingham competition organised by local music champions Nusic.


“I’ve had a lot of support since then and I want to thank Nottingham for helping me, especially Mark Del from Nusic, who has really been campaigning hard for me. I’m really grateful.”


She’s now planning her next single, which will be album track Blind As I Am.


“The photographer Rankin wants to shoot the video for it and I’m excited about that,” she says, adding: “I want people to keep discovering the album. I want it to be known as a classic over time. I think it deserves to be higher than number 17 but I’m a new artist and my music hasn’t been heard on many platforms yet. I’d like to be played on Radio 2 and commercial radio. Maybe with the release of Blind As I Am, which is a ballad, that will happen.


“I definitely want more. I want No Romeo to be heard by more people, in other countries and it to take me around the world.


“And now it’s a Top 20 album, doors will open; there’s a lot to look forward.”


The number one album was a new entry by Bob Dylan, his 36th release called Shadows In The Night.


Others in the Top 20 included Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Mark Ronson and Meghan Trainor.

Indiana

January 2015

SHE isn’t new to having her music critiqued but Indiana admits reading reviews of No Romeo has been difficult.

“To begin with I was just concerned with what the fans thought about it more than anything else,” says 27-year-old Lauren Henson of the album, which is released on Monday.

“And that I was baring my soul with something I’ve been working on for years.

“Then, when the reviews started coming in, I found that really hard. Some of them were really good but some of them weren’t so good and I was like ‘who the hell are you talking about my music!?’”

Despite very positive reviews from the likes of The Guardian and The Observer, for which she should be punching the air, Indiana has been sensitive to any negative feedback, even on Twitter.

“I’ve found it really hard not to come back at people,” she admits.

“It’s been really hard for me to bite my tongue.

“I’m not a volatile person but when people are talking about my livelihood and my passion...”

Both her manager and boyfriend have told her to celebrate the critical acclaim and stop reacting to tweets that wind her up.

“They’ve told me to ‘stop feeding the trolls’ but it’s hard,” she laughs.

The album, released on Monday, is a classy collection of moody, brooding, dark electronic pop that is part-dance music and part-trip-hop.

It follows last year’s No. 14 single Solo Dancing and phenomenal support from Radio 1.

She admits she had battles with the record label about what does and doesn’t go on the album and has had to suffer delays for its release, originally planned for September.

Rather than celebrate its arrival, Indiana is nervous.

“It feels horrible because there’s so much riding on it.

“If it’s a flop I won’t be able to carry on doing it on this path. I will most definitely find another path making music but it’s scary. And I don’t think I envisaged these feelings.”

You get the impression she’s never satisfied.

The Guardian gave No Romeo a 4/5 review describing it as “smart, inventive, thought-provoking pop music”.

And yet...

“It was supposed to be the lead review in the paper,” says the mum-of-two.

“But then Björk’s album got leaked so she took my place and my review never got printed.”

The paper did post the review on its website with a streaming of the full album.

And, despite Radio 1 championing her with interviews, sessions and playlistings (a re-released Solo Dancing recently made the station’s A list), she’s hungry to be played on Capital FM.

“I don’t think Capital like me,” she giggles.

“I think I’m too leftfield for them. Maybe if I have a Top 10 single they’ll play me. Being on that playlist will widen my audience massively.”

Well, at least Durex like her, using her Bound song on their latest ad for Embrace Pleasure Gels.

“They asked to use it and I said OK... actually I asked to see the advert first. It’s not sleazy, so I was happy for them to use it.”

She adds: “And apparently Solo Dancing was on Hollyoaks the other night, while someone was stripping.”

There’s a theme developing. Acclaimed journalist and writer Caitlin Moran tweeted her approval of the album using a phrase that’s not printable in a family newspaper.

“I’m getting quite a name for myself,” laughs Indiana, who lives in Long Eaton.

“I really tried not to be a anything like that.”

This week it was announced that at the end of her next UK tour she’ll be playing the main stage at Rock City, the only female Nottingham artist ever to do that.

“That’s so cool,” she says.

“I’m most excited about having my name above the door. I don’t think I’ve ever had that before. It’s the little things that keep me going,” she laughs, adding that it will be a Nottingham artist supporting her – she’ll be rifling through Soundcloud to find one.

It was through social media that Indiana got her break, posting her version of Gabriel by Grammy-nominated songwriter John Beck on YouTube, prompting him to get in touch.

Boyfriend James Alexander, who she met in Loughborough, where she grew up, encouraged her to apply for the Future Sound of Nottingham competition in 2012, leading to her very first gig in the Old Market Square as part of the semi-final.

Three years on and there’s been the major label deal, Radio 1 support, major festival dates, sold out tours, singing for the Queen and the Top 20 single.

And there’s baby Etta, now 17 months old, sister to six-year-old Harvey.

This week she’s been signing copies of the album at home.

“Harvey asked me: ‘Mummy, are you going to hand these out to people? Will you be sad if nobody wants one?”, she laughs.

“Then he said: ‘Don’t worry mummy, I’ll have one.’ I could have cried.”


Indiana will have a launch party for the album at Oslo in London tonight then at Rough Trade in Broad Street on Monday where she’ll play a short set from 7pm. Details at roughtrade.com.
Tickets for her date at Rock City on Friday, May 29 are £12.50, call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.

Notts music 2015

January 1 2015

2014 saw a sold out show at the Capital FM Arena by Jake Bugg, a Top 20 single for Indiana, critical acclaim for Ronika and Sleaford Mods, plus a two-month arena tour with Ed Sheeran for Saint Raymond. So what in store for Nottingham musicians in 2015?

THERE has been no date set for Jake Bugg’s third album but you could bet your house on Nottingham’s biggest music star releasing it by the end of the year.

Remember, Shangri La followed just a year after his No. 1 self-titled debut but that was at the end of 2013.

While touring the world this year, the 20-year-old (he turns 21 in February) has been crafting new music, playing a number of fresh tunes at gigs such as Looking Down The Alley and Hold On You.

We can also expect an arena tour to follow and a return to the Capital FM Arena, which he played in February.

Snapping at his heels is Saint Raymond, 19-year-old Callum Burrows from Bramcote, who has been building momentum all year for the release of his debut album.

As well as three songs in the iTunes Top 30 (a fourth single Fall At Your Feet is out this week), he went on the road with Ed Sheeran for two months playing arenas across the UK and Europe, including two shows in Nottingham.

“2014 has been insane, all the shows, recording the album, and obviously the tour with Ed Sheeran,” he said, promising the album would be out “earlyish 2015”.

One would hope it lands before he plays his sell-out show at Rock City in February, only the second Notts artist to do that. The other? Jake Bugg, of course.

The album was finished months ago, as was the debut by his mates Amber Run, the anthemic guitar band who got together at uni in Nottingham.

They released three singles on RCA and a fourth, I Found, is due in January.

What we do have a date for is Indiana’s No Romeo album, which will be released on January 26.

The 27-year-old mum-of-two, who lives in Long Eaton, has had phenomenal support from Radio 1 this year, earning her a Top 20 single, Solo Dancing.

Don’t be surprised to see her at Splendour this summer after a year off from the festival when she joined the line-up for DHP Family’s new No Tomorrow festival in Wollaton Park last summer.

Expect more new music from Ronika, whose Selectadisc album picked up phenomenal reviews.

As did Sleaford Mods. The punk duo’s latest album Divide And Exit made a number of end-of-year polls including the NME and The Guardian. Their Rescue Rooms gig on January 27 is sold out.

Dog Is Dead, now called D.I.D., have been exploring a sludgier, if still melodic, sound. Hear them at The Bodega in March.

Notts-raised soprano Lucy Kay goes on tour with Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro this month, including the Royal Concert Hall. The 25-year-old has been performing for celebrities and royalty, here and in Hong Kong, following the Top 20 success of her debut album, Fantasia.

Grime star Gino, who has a phenomenal following on social media, should break through this year.

Others expected to build on their success in 2014 are Gallery 47, who toured with Paul Weller; Joel Baker, who had Radio 1 support from Huw Stephens and Fearne Cotton; Harleighblu who played festivals across Europe, and guitar band Lacey, fresh from winning a support slot with James Blunt at the Capital FM Arena.

Indiana

October 2014

JUST five years ago she was a struggling single mum, scraping a living together for her and her son by working in a T-shirt printing shop.
Her dad had committed suicide, her mum and two sisters had moved away.
Lauren Henson was alone.
One lunchtime, she nipped into a smoothie bar in her home town of Loughborough, and met the man who would turn her life around.
“It sounds cheesy, I know, but it was love at first sight,” says Lauren Henson, better known as rising Nottingham music star Indiana.
“We couldn’t breath, he was dropping things... we couldn’t get out of each other’s heads.”
The 27-year-old is sat in Suede Bar in the Lace Market, co-owned by her boyfriend, who also, coincidentally, runs a T-shirt company.
As well as moving her and her son Harvey, now 6, to Long Eaton, James Alexander encouraged her to pursue her passion for music.
He entered her for the annual Future Sound of Nottingham competition in 2012, the winner of which would open the main stage at Splendour in Wollaton Park.
She made the semi-final, held in the Old Market Square, in April of that year - her first live performance.
Despite obvious nerves, other local musicians, music writers and Splendour boss George Akins, were blown away by her dark electronic pop. To reach the final, Indiana needed votes but as an unknown artist, she didn’t have the fan base to put her there.
No matter, she would play the final at Rock City anyway, as a special guest, such was the belief in this fresh music talent.
Since then she has signed to major record label Sony, played all the major music festivals, including Glastonbury, had her first Top 20 single, Solo Dancing, and played an intimate show at Radio 1’s Live Lounge with Irish chart-toppers The Script - in front of The Queen.
It was a one-song performance, of David Bowie’s Heroes and included her singing the line “and I will be Queen”.
She laughs: “I was told not to look at her when I sang that line. But I was so focussed on not looking at her, my eyes were darting around the room and they hit her a couple of times.”
HRH was on a tour of the BBC’s new Broadcasting House in London and Indiana’s three minutes were screened live on BBC News 24.
“She’s well sweet and little,” says Indiana, who was introduced to her afterwards.
“She reminded me of my grandma Mary.”
That was last year, a year that also saw her make her Glastonbury debut and play the main stage at Splendour, while heavily pregnant with second child, Etta.

This year she has been regularly playlisted and interviewed on Radio 1, had a No. 14 single, played summer festivals such as Reading and Leeds, Bestival and Nottingham’s No Tomorrow in Wollaton Park and finished her debut album, No Romeo, released this month.
So how does she combine motherhood and a music career?
“It’s been hard, this summer especially, because of all the festivals. After Bestival on the Isle of Wight, I got home at 4.30am and had to be up at 7am to prepare for Etta’s first birthday party,” says Indiana, a lean 5 ft 11 with model looks and tattoos snaking down her left arm.
James, who inspired her growing collection of tattoos, isn’t a stay at home dad as he has three businesses to run, including Suede Bar, three smoothie bars and the T-shirt company Some Kind Of Nature, which Indiana often wears for gigs and social media photos.
“He’ll kill me,” she says, realising she’s forgotten to wear a branded T-shirt for today’s photo shoot.
“We’re lucky that my mum has moved in to our house to help out with Harvey and Etta,” she says, returning to the childcare issue.
“She’s retired and she wanted to do it but she’s looking to buy a house so she won’t be there for much longer.”
Her mum and dad separated when she was six.
“I saw him every day and I was extremely close to him but I didn’t find out he was ill until I was 14 or 15,” she admits.
“He was a paranoid schizophrenic. My childhood is a very confusing place because there were two sides to him. He could be very loving and caring and a really fun dad to be around. But then he’d say some really confusing things to me.
“A young girl from our town had been murdered and the last person to see her alive had the same name as my dad. The police told him that they knew it wasn’t him but he invented this whole thing that he had killed this girl. He’d tell me that he was a bad man and a murderer.
“Even when they caught the guy who did it, he’d carry on saying that and I’d scream at him ‘what is wrong with you, you didn’t do it!’ It was very confusing. Very weird.
“He attempted to kill himself six times and I witnessed it. He stabbed himself in the stomach and we had to take him to hospital.
“He eventually killed himself because he thought me and my sisters would get bullied because of him.”
After that her mum moved away. Her older sisters, Joanne and Nicola, had already moved to Hampshire and London.
She became pregnant by a childhood friend.
Indiana admits that she went off the rails after her dad’s death, although she believes she was always off the rails until she found music.
“I was ungrounded, going from job to job, fixating on fitness or partying too hard or yo yo dieting... there was something I always had to focus on. Sometimes bad things. When I found music, I found peace. I have an addictive personality... I’m just glad that I’m addicted to something healthy.”
Early musical favourites included Marilyn Manson.
“I had a poster of him on the wall next to my bed right where my pillow was and I used to kiss it,” she laughs.
“What a weirdo!”

She adds: “I was a greb. I went through a bit of a bit of goth stage but reverted back to being a greb. I was into metal, punk and ska. I didn’t used to wash my hair, I’d wear baggy trousers... and I’d stink,” she laughs.
She didn’t make to the trip over the border to Rock City to see gigs though because she had a baby at home, whose dad is still very much a part of his life.
“Harvey’s heard me on the radio and he comes to rehearsals, so he’s getting it,” she says.
“He misses me when I’m away, as does Etta, but sometimes I see them more than the average mum because I can be at home for long periods.”
That won’t be the case this month when the album is released. There’ll be promotional duties to do followed by a UK tour that includes a home coming in November with a date at the Rescue Rooms.
She admits: “I’m the most contented and grounded and happiest I’ve ever been.”


No Romeo is released on October 13. Indiana plays the Rescue Rooms on November 7. Tickets are £10, call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.

George Akins - 'Nottingham's Mr Music'

May 2014

IN the book on a shelf behind George Akins’ desk, the writer refers to him a “Nottingham’s Mr Music”. It’s Jake Bugg’s unofficial biography that is as much about the local music scene as it is about the rise of the kid from Clifton to international star.
“Does it really say that?” he frowns, admitting he’s not yet had time to read it.
He’s not keen on the label but it sits well with the boss of a company that dominates Nottingham’s music map.
DHP Family owns and operates Rock City, Rescue Rooms, The Social and Stealth, where everyone from U2 and Oasis to Simply Red, Nirvana, The Smiths, Iron Maiden and more have played.
It promotes gigs in all of its own venues but also around the country, putting on around 1,200 gigs every year for the likes of Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and Lana Del Ray, winning national awards in the process.
There are other venues in Bristol and London, where it has a second office.
Rock City is also home to concert ticket agency Alt-Tickets.
In more recent years they’ve added artist management to the portfolio, enjoying success with West Bridgford indie band Dog Is Dead and Long Eaton’s Indiana, who last week landed her first Top 20 single.
The 39-year-old father-of-two, the son of Nottingham entrepreneur George Akins (George junior named his son George), recently moved operations from behind Rock City to the Lace Market, taking two storeys in a Victorian building behind wrought iron gates on Plumptre Street.
It’s next to St Mary’s School House where George senior left at the age of 12 in order to start making a bob or two for himself.
It is from here that DHP Family also organises festivals. There are five in all, the most by any promoter.
The indoor variety include Everywhere, Hit The Deck and next weekend’s Dot To Dot across Manchester, Bristol and Nottingham.
“Dot To Dot is our longest-running festival at nine years and it’s all about showcasing the new bands that are the future of music.”
DHP Family has been putting on outdoor festivals, mostly at Wollaton Park, since 1997 with the first City In The Park. More followed with the Corrs, Bryan Adams, Ronan Keating and All Saints, then Green Day for Distortion.
“Although they weren’t unsuccessful, they weren’t particularly successful events,” he admits.
“It is hard to make a one day production work. They were not profitable overall and that was why we stopped doing them.
”It wasn’t until we got into a partnership with Nottingham City Council that we were able to stage the Splendour Festival in Wollaton Park as a sustainable event.
“That has been a success since it started and long may it continue. “
Splendour is now in its sixth year but they’ve added a new festival to the summer diary in early June called No Tomorrow.
“It’s like an end of term party for students,” says George, who never made it to university, thrown out of boarding school in Rugby for smoking and drinking.
“We’ve made overtures to both of the universities for a number of years about getting involved in an end of term party,” he says.
“And we’ve seen the success of Parklife in Manchester and Love Saves The Day in Bristol. They’ve now become proper festivals running over two days and attracting up to 60,000 people.”
Each started out at 10,000, which is his expectation for No Tomorrow on June 7.
“The vision is for it to become a bigger event,” he says of the one-day festival that is targeted at students but is for anyone 18 and over.
“It’s delivering a beginning of summer experience and we’re confident we can do that.”
London Grammar, who met at the University of Nottingham, will headline, with Sam Smith and Clean Bandit joining them on the main stage. All three have number one albums.
Indiana, who is managed by DHP Family, will also appear, following the success of her Top 20 single, Solo Dancing.
Opening the main stage will be a student band, chosen through a competition between both universities.
“It’s a different vibe to Splendour,” says George of the annual festival that returns on July 19.
“That’s more of a day out for family and friends.”
Hence the mix of old and new acts.
“We try to have acts that have had more than one hit. Happy Mondays have had a long and successful career. Boomtown Rats don’t play very often and they had a number of hits back in the day. Scouting For Girls sold 8,000 tickets at the Arena a couple of years ago and they’ve had several top ten hits.
“The same goes for The Beat, who will also be playing the main stage.
“The newer artists are Tom Odell. Although he’s still on his first album there are five hit singles on there. And Foxes are likely to have a Top 5 album this week .”
While No Tomorrow will have two DJ tents, Splendour’s three live music stages will return as normal, the second being the Confetti Stage with Boomtown Rats, Reverend and the Makers and The Rifles.
“It’s a mix of indie and mainstream, old and new,” he says, with expectations that the event will match the 17,000 people that saw Jake Bugg headline last year’s festival.
“The line-up isn’t as Nottingham heavy as it was last year but it couldn’t have been any more Nottingham than that with Jake Bugg, Indiana, Dog Is Dead, Saint Raymond, Georgie Rose and so many others.”
Those have all played the smallest Splendour stage in the Courtyard, which continues to be a showcase of Notts music talent.
“The Nottingham music scene is very vibrant today,” he says.
“There is this excitement because we are producing so many artists that are coming through. We’ve had Dog Is Dead and Jake Bugg, Saint Raymond and Indiana are coming through in the next wave. A lot of industry people are checking out what is going on and the talent coming out of this city.
“Everyone is talking about it. It is a small industry and if there is a enough talk, it builds.”
Nottingham’s Mr Music has never had a go at being in a band himself. He’s not really had the time. At 19, six months in to a jaunt across the Far East and Australia, he was summoned back by his dad to join the family business.
“You just learn quick,” he says of those early years.
“I started doing some of the bookings, probably made a hash of it, learning from my mistakes.”

Dot To Dot at Rock City, Rescue Rooms, Stealth, The Bodega, Spanky Van Dykes and other venues, is on Sunday, May 25. Tickets are £20.
No Tomorrow is at Wollaton Park on Saturday, June 7. Tickets from £20.
Splendour is on Saturday, July 19 and tickets are from £10 to £42.50.
Tickets for all events are on sale from Rock City box office, call 0845 413 4444 or go to alt-tickets.co.uk.
For more about DHP Family go to dhpfamily.com.

Notts music's week in the spotlight

May 14 2014

NOTTINGHAM musicians have been experiencing national attention again this week, with the likes of Saint Raymond, Indiana and Jake Bugg entering the charts and being played on Radio 1.

Saint Raymond’s latest EP, Ghosts, was at No. 4 on the iTunes chart yesterday.

The 19-year-old from Bramcote, real name Callum Burrows, said: “Getting in to the Top 5 is a real honour. I had no expectations for the EP so it’s great!”

His last EP, Young Blood, peaked at No. 3, while his debut Escapade, reached No. 24. Unfortunately, EPs aren’t eligible for the Official UK Singles Chart due to the extra tracks that are included.

The musician, who played the Great Escape Festival in Brighton at the weekend, recently returned from Los Angeles, his second trip there.

“I’ve been working on my debut album out there. I’m heading back on Thursday.”

As well as playing Nottingham’s Dot To Dot Festival at the end of May, which takes place across city venues, including Rock City and the Rescue Rooms, in October he’ll be opening for Ed Sheeran’s two shows at the Capital FM Arena.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “Two shows with him in my home city is going to be a bit surreal but that’s so exciting.”

This week Callum has been in session on Radio 1 with Huw Stephens. Last night he played his biggest headline show to date at the Scala in London.

On the current iTunes chart is Jake Bugg’s latest EP, Messed Up Kids, at No. 18.

The 20-year-old has just announced his most high profile tour to date, playing the likes of Cardiff Arena, Liverpool Echo 2 and Alexandra Palace in London throughout October, before heading off to the US on a tour supporting blue rock duo the Black Keys.

The Clifton chart-topper, who has been all over the world touring in support of his second album, Shangri La, told his 400,000 Twitter followers: “What a long tour that was, went to some great places though, thank you all very much, look forward to seeing you all soon!”

In the past two weeks alone he’s played Australia, South America and Japan.

Jake is also lined up for some major summer festival appearances including Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds Festivals.

There are no new dates for his home city yet, to follow his sell-out at the Capital FM Arena in February.

Messed Up Kids is taken from Shangri La, the follow-up to his self-titled No. 1 debut, which has sold over a million copies.

Indiana, who is currently in the studio working on her debut album, recently enjoyed a Top 20 single with Solo Dancing, which is still in the Top 100 and continues to be played on Radio 1.

The 26-year-old Long Eaton mum-of-two has been confirmed for a string of summer festivals including Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Glasgow (where Saint Raymond is also to appear), Bestival and Nottingham’s newest festival, No Tomorrow, at Wollaton Park in June.

George Akins, boss of DHP Family, which organises the festival, plus Splendour and Dot To Dot and is also Indiana’s management company, said: “Both Indiana and Saint Raymond are enjoying success now which is really exciting. You’ve also got Amber Run coming through, Kagoule, Georgie Rose, Ady Suleiman... there’s more to come.

“It’s the beginning of something much bigger. The Nottingham scene will just grow and grow.”

Other recent successes include Joel Baker’s Every Vessel EP reaching No. 6 in the iTunes Singer Songwriter chart, 80s dance pop revivalist Ronika being played on Made In Chelsea and Kagoule being playlisted on Radio 1.

Indiana

April 2014

SINGING for the Queen, appearances on BBC TV, regular plays on Radio 1, Glastonbury... and now Indiana’s had a pizza named after her.
“We were on holiday in France snowboarding and I had a pizza that I haven’t been able to shut up about,” says the 26-year-old, whose boyfriend recently opened a new pizza bar in Hockley.
“He said ‘We’ll make it and call it the Indiana.’”
It’s goat’s cheese, walnuts and honey, which sounds disgusting.
“No, It’s really good!” insists the rising music star who’ll be playing the Rescue Rooms tonight.
Entrepreneur boyfriend James - Long Eaton’s Alan Sugar - opened Suede Bar in Heathcoat Street last month but he’s also heavily involved in Indiana’s career. He was the one who encouraged her to enter the Future Sound of Nottingham competition, which saw her play her debut show in the Old Market Square two years ago.
Since then she’s signed to Sony, had regular support from Radio 1, played Glastonbury and performed for the Queen with The Script.
Of late she’s been on tour with Bipolar Sunshine.
“It was great,” she says.
“There was loads of tour banter. I had my own tour van, which was useful when the venue didn’t have a dressing room.”

She shared the van with three band members, her tour manager and sound engineer.
It was an eight date jaunt around the UK.
“It was really hard,” she says of being away from her seven-month-old daughter, Etta, and five-year-old son Harvey.
“He loves that I have an interesting job but he misses me. Although he won’t miss me too much when we have a massive mansion with horses,” she laughs.
Indiana’s new single, Solo Dancing, released on April 20, has been B-listed on Radio 1.
“Every time it’s played it jumps up on the iTunes chart,” she says.
“It made it into the Top 100, which is really good for pre-orders. Most people buy singles when they’ve been released.”
Those turning out to see Bipolar Sunshine seemed to know the song.
“I had to win over the crowd every night. At the start they were all chatting and thinking ‘who is this girl?’ but by the end... especially when I played Solo Dancing, there’d be cheers; they were probably thinking ‘oh it’s that girl!’
Since the tour finished last weekend she’s been rehearsing for tonight’s home city gig.
“Next week I’ll be back in the studio working on the album and I’ll be doing a session for Radio 1.”
The album she’ll have to finish by the end of the month.
“It’s been hard deciphering which songs will go on it because I’ve got so many now.”
And the new material?
“A little bit more of the same and... I don’t want to say up-beat. You could perhaps move around to a couple of them.”
Surprisingly, she won’t be putting her first few singles on the album, such as Mess Around and Smoking Gun.
“If people have already bought them, then by putting all new material on the album means they get better value for money.”

The album is due to be released between July and September, after a string of major summer festival appearances that will be revealed next week.
As a mum of two in her mid-twenties, what was her reaction to the sudden death of Peaches Geldof?
“It broke my heart”, she says.
“I was never a fan and I thought she was quite annoying when she was younger but it seemed like having children was the making of her.
“She looked like she had a good life and on her Instagram photos she looked really happy.
“It breaks my heart that her two beautiful sons don’t have a mum.”
She adds: “It haunted me a little bit. Maybe because I had a baby recently.”

Indiana plays the Rescue Rooms tonight supported by April Towers. 7.30pm to 10pm. £10, alt-tickets.co.uk. There will be an after party at Suede Bar which, says Indiana: “Everyone’s invited to.”

Oslo, Hackney

DHP Family, which operates four live music venues in the city, has expanded into London with the opening of the £1m Oslo

IT started life as a railway station but the two-storey Victorian building in Hackney is now home to the first Nottingham-owned live music venue in London.

Oslo, which sits next to Hackney Railway Station, is the sixth venue owned and operated by DHP Family, the city centre company that is best known for Rock City.

It also owns Rescue Rooms, The Bodega and Stealth, and a venue in Bristol called Thekla, promotes national tours for the likes of New Order, James Blunt, Nick Cave and Ed Sheeran, runs its own ticket agency, and manages artists.

The focus of the business, started with the opening of Rock City more than 30 years ago, has always been in Nottingham, where they also run the annual Splendour music festival.

Oslo, which opened at the weekend, marks their first venture in the capital.

“We had a storming opening night, the place was packed downstairs in the bar and upstairs,” says DHP Family chairman George Akins.

“We’ve brought something new to this part of London; great music, great food and great drink all in one place – and it’s gone down really well.”

The name is a dedication to George’s mum, who was born in Oslo.

“There’s a bit of family heritage in there, which we like; family has always been important to us.

“And she loves it. It’s the only venue of ours that she wants to come and see. She’s been telling all of our Norweigian family about it.

“Hackney is now twinned with Oslo, which was a complete coincidence.”

They opened an office nearby last year as part of the tour promotion side of the business.

“We book a lot of bands into London already so it made sense for us to have an office there. This is taking the next step and doing what we do in Nottingham so well, in London.”

The 600-capacity Oslo will operate as a live music venue, nightclub, bar and eaterie.

“It’s like the Rescue Rooms... but with food,” he says.

“Hackney is an up and coming area. It’s very cool, it attracts a lot of fashion businesses... and we saw a good opportunity there.”

Bands booked to play in the next few weeks include Dry the River, Chrome Hoof, Long Eaton’s Indiana and an NME show.

“We’re confident we can keep the momentum going and make Oslo one of the hottest venues in London.”

DHP Family is now handling tours for Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and Flaming Lips and recently won Live Promoter of the Year for the second year running.

“We’re putting on more gigs than ever before and they’re bigger shows. We’re putting Jake Bugg, You Me At Six and Frank Turner in to the Capital FM Arena.”

Among the festivals they organise is Splendour. So who do we have headlining this year?

“We’re still working on it but we’ll be announcing a few names for Dot to Dot next week.”

For more about Oslo go to facebook.com/oslohackney, on Twitter @oslohackney and oslohackney.com.

Indiana

November 2013

In just 18 months, Indiana has gone from playing her first gig as an unknown in the Old Market Square, to signing a major label deal and performing for the Queen. This week she released her first single for Sony which has been playlisted by Radio 1. Simon Wilson caught her at home just before she headed off to Los Angeles to start work on her debut album.

IT’S one thing singing for the Queen when she’s sat just eight feet away from you in a small radio studio but to have deliver the line “and I will be Queen”...
“I was told not to look at her when I sang that line,” laughs the 26-year-old at her home in Long Eaton.
“But I was so focussed on not looking at her, my eyes were darting around the room and they hit her a couple of times.”
She was performing a cover David Bowie’s Heroes with Irish band The Script, a random gig that was arranged at the last minute to show HRH the new Live Lounge at the Radio 1 studios at the official opening of the BBC’s new Broadcasting House in London.
After the performance, which was screened live on the BBC News 24 channel, Indiana was introduced to her.
“She's well sweet and little,” says the mother-of-one in her home studio, where she’s been working on tracks for her much anticipated debut album.
“She reminded me of my grandma Mary. I was still proper scared though. I was so glad I didn't mess it up.”
They had a quick chat about Glastonbury where Indiana, real name Lauren Henson, was due to appear on the BBC Introducing Stage, part of which was seen on BBC Three’s coverage.
So there are two obvious highlights of the first 18 months of her career to date but topping both of them was playing the main stage at Splendour in July.
“There was so many people and they all cheered whenever I said anything,” she laughs.
“I was saying thanks and they kept clapping and shouting. I was about to start crying so I played Blind As I Am and messed up the words because I was all emotional.”
Splendour was headlined by Jake Bugg but also appearing on the main stage were indie band Dog Is Dead, managed by Nottingham’s DHP Family, who recently signed up Indiana.
The organisation, which operates Rock City, the Rescue Rooms and other venues, also promotes shows around the UK and they’ve booked her two next month; at Nottingham’s the Bodega and Oslo in Hackney.
“I'd like to start touring more because I love performing,” she says just 18 months after her very first gig. That was in the Old Market Square as part of the Future Sound of Nottingham competition to open Splendour’s main stage. She didn’t even make the final but was booked to play the festival anyway, such was the buzz surrounding her.

A year later she was on the main stage.
“Sometimes it feels like ages ago,” she reflects.
“So much has happened. I want to say I never dreamt I'd get this far... or some other corny line, but the truth is, as soon as I realised this was what I wanted to do I dreamt big.”
But she admits: “I’ve still got a long way to go.”
This week her debut single for Sony, Mess Around, was released and was placed on the Radio 1 playlist, a station that has supported her for months.
“I hope I never get used to being on the radio. It's such a buzz. I have a voice mail off my mum and my sister singing (screaming actually) along to Mess Around because it came on the radio when they were out in the car together.
“I’ve met a few of them. Phil Taggart is such a cool guy. Sara Cox is my favourite though and she waved at me when I visited the studios. And I met Scott Mills. He follows me on Twitter, you know,” she grins.
“Zane Lowe has really got behind me just recently. He interviewed Dave Grohl with the drum loop on Mess Around going on in the background. It was an awesome feeling listening to it all.”
Her music has been compared to everything from Portishead to Sinead O’Connor and The Cranberries. It’s electro-based and lyrically dark, which is surprising for an apparently happy and warm personality.
“People often say I'm not what they expected after listening to my music but I am drawn to darker things. I wanted to be a forensic scientist growing up.
“A lot of the time it’s just the way it comes out when I'm writing. Last week I set out to write an Arabian love story but I ended up with a song about a zombie army. It’s called Sleeping Nation. Here are a couple of lines from it: ‘And legion corpses creep, emerging from their sleep, I set my people free...’
“I'm a weirdo,” she laughs.
“And that’s not a line from the song, just a statement.”
As well meeting the Queen, Indiana has had a chat with the daughter of the King: Lisa Marie Presley.
“It was at a party for the launch of her album. Yeah she was chatting away to me and I said 'I’m sorry, I've not taken any of that in. I can't stop thinking you're Elvis' daughter and that you were married to Michael Jackson!'.

She’s now landed in LA where she’ll be spending a couple of weeks staying in Hollywood and working with producers on songs for her debut album. That will likely be released by the spring.
“When I come back there’ll be a new single and I’ll be making a video for that before Christmas.”
Joining her in Los Angeles is the boyfriend (the reason she moved here from Loughborough) and their two month old daughter, Etta.
“I'm under strict instructions that this trip is not a holiday,” she says.
“And I've only got one day off. I’ll be spending that with Etta and her dad. Etta comes everywhere with me. Well, I am her food after all,” she laughs, then adds: “Everyone has been really supportive and as long as you have that support network around you, there's no reason why a mum should have to decide between a career and a family.
“I'm doing both and I hope my situation empowers and inspires other women.”

Mess Around is out now on iTunes. Indiana plays The Bodega on December 4. Tickets are £6.50 from alt-tickets.co.uk. For more about her go to facebook.com/indianathegirl or follow her on Twitter @indianathegirl

Splendour interviews: Jake Bugg, Dog Is Dead, Indiana, Georgie Rose, Gorgeous Chans

July 20, 2013




JAKE Bugg isn’t known for his happy-go-lucky banter or cheesy grin, preferring to let the music do all the talking on his behalf.

And while he wasn’t exactly channeling Freddie Mercury during his one-hour headline set at Splendour on Saturday, he was smiling and talking more than he has at any show in Nottingham – and probably anywhere else.

And he was much the same backstage an hour before he was due on the main stage in front of 17,000 people in Wollaton Park.

Although he’d flown in to Nottingham from Ireland the night before and landed around midnight, he’d gone back to Clifton to see an old friend.

“I was at my cousin Scott’s,” says the 19-year-old chart-topper, sat in a portacabin, dressed in black like an early Sixties Beatle.

“I thought ‘who’s still going to be up at midnight?’”

They stayed up in to the early hours and now he’s paying the price.

“I’m tired, mate,” he admits.

Jake arrived at the Splendour site around 7pm after spending the afternoon sleeping and working.

“I went through some songs for the second album.”

He’d not seen any other friends or family?

“No. My phone’s been going off all day but I’ll see them later,” he promises.

During the set, Jake plays three songs from the next album, which he’ll finish recording at the end of August in Malibu with legendary producer Rick Rubin. It’ll be released in November.

He sayd: “I’ve got about 20 songs and I’ll record all of them to see how they come out.”

Before that he has a show to do.

“It’s amazing to be back and to be playing in my hometown and to be headlining but I also have to stay focused; just so I can play as well and not get carried away with familiar faces in the crowd.

“Or when a girl takes her bra off. It happened in Portugal the other day. Some girl lifted her T-shirt up and she didn’t know the camera was on her and it came up on the big screen,” he laughs.

Jake played Splendour on the main stage last year, but fellow Notts success story Dog Is Dead were notching up their fifth appearance.




I first saw them in the Courtyard at the first Splendour in 2008.

“We knew it was going to be a big hometown gig and something special and it happened, it was really cool, “ says frontman Rob Milton, 22, from West Bridgford.

“Something always happens here; when we play the first chord they open the circle pits and start moshing. I have to remind people it’s not a Slayer show.”

He adds: “It’s nice to play an all-age show. It was actually the first show my nan’s been to. The family were super proud, so it’s good.”

There are more festivals for Dog Is Dead to play before they record their follow-up to last year’s All Our Favourite Stories.

Of their status as Splendour veterans, he says: “It’s five times in six years. Next time we get a free cappuccino.”

Less than 18 months ago, Indiana played her first gig in the Old Market Square in the Future Sound of Nottingham, a competition to open the main stage at Splendour.



She didn’t even reach the final but since then she has signed to the Epic label, been played on Radio 1, appeared at Glastonbury and performed for the Queen with The Script.

She is the second artist to be signed to DHP (the Nottingham-based organisers of Splendour, owners of Rock City and much more) after Dog Is Dead.

And she’s pregnant! Baby Etta is due in September.

“She was kicking a lot,” says the 25-year-old from Long Eaton. “When you’re halfway through a song and you’re really into it... it’s really off-putting,” she laughs.

She has one more festival next weekend then will be on maternity leave from the world of pop until October when her debut single is released.

She’s thankful that the scorching weather settled down for Splendour, a largely cloudy, if warm, day.

“It was my first main stage, ever,” she says, adding that it was a better experience than Glastonbury.

“That was the most special performance ever,” she says of her early afternoon slot.

“I could really feel that everyone was like ‘we like you actually Indiana... it made me want to cry. I wasn’t expecting to be so overwhelmed.”

It would have been understandable for The Gorgeous Chans to have felt overwhelmed by opening the main stage as the winners of the Future Sound of Nottingham competition but the indie/ska band of mostly teenagers enjoyed it.

“It was great fun, “ says 19-year-old saxophone player Liam Webber.

“We were a bit worried the samba wouldn’t go down well but it seemed to,” he adds, of their sound, a mix of Paul Simon’s Graceland and Vampire Weekend.

Although the line-up was buoyed up to a ten-piece, two core members were missing.

“Our trumpet and organ player couldn’t make it so we replaced them with a samba band,” he says.

After the set they sped off in all directions and reported back with positive reviews about fellow Notts artists Rob Green, Dog Is Dead and Georgie Rose.

The latter, an 18-year-old from Mansfield, is one of the region’s most-talked-about female singer-songwriters and yet she’s only been performing for just a year. Her set was on the smallest stage in the Courtyard but she is a contender for the main stage next year.



“The security were turning people away,” she says.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be that busy so it kind of blew me away a little bit.”

She adds: “I’ve got a lot of work to do but I aim to get on the main stage.”

Dozens of artists played over the three music stages with an afternoon of chuckles delivered on the comedy stage, plus a market, a funfair and cabaret.

Indiana

July 19, 2013

THE fastest rising Nottingham music star of recent times is Indiana, a 25-year-old from Long Eaton who only played her first gig just over a year ago.

That was in the Future Sound of Nottingham competition to open the main stage at Splendour. She didn’t even come close but tomorrow she’ll be lining up with Jake Bugg, Squeeze and KT Tunstall on her own merit.

In the past 12 months she’s been signed to the Epic label, played on Radio 1, appeared at Glastonbury and sang for the Queen.

The latter was in the Radio 1 Live Lounge with Irish band The Script for a version of David Bowie’s Heroes, with her singing to the line “I will be Queen” to the Queen sitting just six feet away.

“Buckingham Palace requested The Script and the guys at Radio 1 wanted to showcase BBC Introducing,” she says of the initiative that has seen a lot of new artists getting played on national radio.

“And I was their favourite,” she beams.

She rehearsed with the band for a couple of hours the night before.

“I was nervous going into their space but they were really welcoming and a laugh. I was elated after that and not nervous at all but just before the Queen walked in I thought I was going to faint.”

The performance was screened live on BBC News 24.

“My family and friends found it really bizarre. They were messaging me saying ‘Did I just see you on the news?’”

After the performance she spoke to the Queen.

“It was quite annoying because the papers said she only clapped once – ‘one was not impressed!’ – but afterwards she was all smiles and chatting away.

“She spoke to me about Glastonbury. A guy from Radio 1 explained to her what BBC Introducing was and how I’d gone from writing music in my bedroom to performing at Glastonbury. And she said ‘Is that where it gets ever so muddy?’

“But the papers said she spoke to Danny (O’Donoghue, The Script singer) about Glastonbury and they weren’t even performing there, so I was annoyed that my claim to fame was taken away from me,” she laughs.

“Afterward, I walked out of the BBC and they were replaying everything on the big screen outside. I was stood in the middle of this crowd wearing exactly the same clothes but no one noticed me,” she continues, giggling.

Although she signed an autograph.

“Yes, just one. A girl asked for it and I got a pen out of my bag and started practising it before doing one for her.”

It was while at Glastonbury that she revealed to the crowd in the BBC Introducing tent that she was pregnant.

Etta, named after jazz singer Etta James, is due on September 7.

Is she worried about the timing?

“No, I’m embracing it. My label said I couldn’t have picked a better time because that’s the quietest month.”

Her boyfriend, James, will be a stay-at-home dad while she returns to her music career, with her first official single, Mess Around, due out in October.

She laughs: “I’ll have hopefully worked the baby weight off by then.”

Music review of 2012

December 2012


WHEN Jake Bugg’s debut album shot straight to the top of the chart in October, denying Leona Lewis, Mumford and Sons and others the coveted spot, it was the crowning glory on a year that has seen unprecedented success for homegrown musicians.
Even without Jake, there were more record deals, TV appearances, radio plays, award wins and national press than in any other year.
Among the names helping throw a spotlight on the city were Dog Is Dead, Natalie Duncan, Sam Beeton, Indiana, Harleighblu, Shide Boss and RAM1.
And then there was Jake, just 18 years old, scoring the first ever No. 1 album by a Nottingham musician or band.
Added to that, the Clifton boy toured the US and Europe with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, made the cover of the NME, had relentless plays on Radio 1 and appeared on Later With Jools Holland. And he’ll be joining Emeli Sandé, Adam Ant and Paloma Faith for his annual New Year’s Eve Hootenanny on BBC 1.
He sold out the Rescue Rooms last month and has already sold out his Rock City show in February.
West Bridgford indie band Dog Is Dead released their major label debut album, All Our Favourite Stories, also in October, after which they embarked on a headline tour of the UK and picked up an Artrocker award. During the year they had numerous plays on Radio 1 and appeared at 25 festivals over the summer including T in the Park and Leeds and Reading.
Next year they’ll be venturing into Europe and the US.
Jake Bugg wasn’t the only Notts musician to appear on Later With Jools Holland this year. Natalie Duncan, who was raised in Lady Bay and The Meadows, made such an impressive debut on the show in November, that fellow guests, Muse, invited the 24-year-old jazz and soul singer to open for them at the iTunes Festival in London.
Her debut album, Devil In Me, received widespread acclaim, with the Sunday Times describing it as “one of the greatest debut albums of the year”.
In recent weeks she’s been hanging out with Dionne Warwick at the MOBOs and appearing on Terry Wogan’s Radio 2 show.
The station also aired self-released songs by folk pop musician Sam Beeton earlier in the year, with Graham Norton playing Under The Fence and The Storyteller, after which the 24-year-old from Carlton appeared on BBC 2’s The Review Show.
Natalie Duncan was just a guest at the MOBOs but reggae musician RAM1 was there to potentially pick up an award. 20-year-old Ramone Williams from Top Valley had been nominated in the Best Gospel Act category, although sadly he missed out this time.
But there was an award-win for Notts in October at the Asian Music Awards, where Shide Boss, 24, from Basford took the Best Newcomer gong.
And let’s not forget those locals hitting the charts as part of pop groups, such as Jay McGuiness corr from The Wanted.
The Farndon singer, 22, a graduate of the MADD school in Carlton, was at the Capital FM Arena with the group as part of a sell-out UK tour in February, after which they cracked the US with their single Glad You Came reaching No. 3 in the chart.
Their EP, The Wanted, hit the top ten in the US and Canada.
Joel Peat, the 20-year-old Ravenshead guitarist with pop/rock quartet Lawson, saw their debut album, Chapman Square, hit the Top 5.
And 2013 is looking promising for two of our ladies. In recent weeks Indiana, a 25-year-old from Long Eaton, who was an unknown name until her first gig in April, has signed to Sony, while 20-year-old city-based soul singer Harleighblu, was snapped up by Brighton-based independent label TruThoughts.

Indiana

December 2012

IF there was a Nottingham Sound of 2013, Indiana would be the name at the top of it. The 25-year-old from Long Eaton recently signed to Sony and has already had her debut single, Blind As I Am, played on Radio 1. Added to that her producer and co-songwriter is a Grammy nominee. And yet her first gig was just eight months ago.

But Indiana didn’t start her journey with a handful of music industry connections. Nor did she have much experience as a musician.

When her sister dumped her piano at her house for storage, she decided to have a play and teach herself.

She then stumbled across the remix by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard of a song called Gabriel and loved it so much that she filmed a video of her own version.

“I don’t even like it,” she now says. “It’s rubbish.”

But it was good enough to attract the song’s composer John Beck (a Grammy nominee who wrote Tasmin Archer’s No. 1 Sleeping Satellite and Corinne Bailey Rae’s Put Your Record On) who saw it on YouTube and got in touch, asking to work with her.

“We’ve written 13 songs together so far and they’re all recorded and produced,” she says, describing the sound as “quite dark” with a touch of “retro 80s synth”.

Most of them will be aired for the first time tomorrow at Nottingham Contemporary, with her debut headline show.

She admits: “The most I’ve ever done is half-an-hour. It was meant to be an hour but I’m doing 45 minutes because I’m still a newbie. An hour... I think I’d lose my voice.”

Her first gig was in the Old Market Square in April as part of the Future Sound of Nottingham, the annual Nusic competition to win the opening slot on the main stage at Splendour.

Although there was a buzz about her brief performance, she hadn’t the fan base to get enough votes to win through to the final at Rock City. But she played anyway, invited as a special guest. And she appeared at Splendour - such was the belief by organisers that she needed to be heard.

The hype about this new Nottingham talent even spread to the capital.

“Just the other day, John was talking to a publisher in London and he asked ‘how is it going with Indiana?’. John said ‘Oh, you know Indiana then?’ and the publisher said: ‘everybody knows Indiana.’”

Her first single for Sony was Blind As I Am, released as a download. She filmed a video for that and has another finished for her next single, Smoking Gun.

Next week she’ll be doing a fashion shoot for fashion magazine, Drama

“It’s like a taste of things to come. My label said I can expect next year to be full of stuff like that.”

With the advance for her three album deal with the label she has bought a Mini Cooper and will soon be setting up a home recording studio.

And she recently re-launched herself  on Twitter, changing from @I_Am_Indiana to @raiderofarks, continuing the tongue-in-cheek Indiana Jones theme.

“To be honest I forgot my password and email,” she laughs.

“It was all part of an accidental masterplan.”

Indiana will be at Nottingham Contemporary tomorrow supported by Saint Raymond and her sister Joella (“she’s a lot more Taylor Swifty”), starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 from reception, call 0115 948 9750 or book online at www.alt-tickets.co.uk.

Indiana

July 2012

I CAME to this area to be with the love of my life. I know that sounds cringey but it’s true. I moved earlier this year from Loughborough.

My mum isn’t very musical, she’s a hairdresser. She taught hairdressing for a number of years and is now the assistant director of Bedford College.

My dad died when I was 17. He was really into his music and played guitar. I was heavily influenced by his tastes growing up. I miss him a lot, I wish he was here to see what I have accomplished so far.

He and I were huge Oasis fans and he used to borrow my Eminem albums. He also liked Rod Stewart. My mum really loved Simply Red and I remember my dad saying it sounded like sick sliding down a wall.

I have two older sisters. Jo is the eldest and also a musician. She was classically trained and also plays piano. She writes too. I remember me and my friends singing her songs when we were at school.

My other sister Nic was always the sporty one and she plays hockey.

I was heavily into Oasis thanks to my dad. They were the first band I ever saw live. But I also loved NOFX and Less Than Jake, and I listened to Slipknot, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against The Machine and Marilyn Manson. I was a little greb.

When I was about 10 I started having violin lessons. After about three months my teacher told me to stop coming because I wasn’t picking it up. I was pretty rubbish.

I didn’t start creating my own music until my sister used my house as storage for her old Yamaha upright piano. I kept sitting down and playing about and started teaching myself piano. Then I started writing.

At first it was poppy and sounded all right but once I started delving deeper in to my emotions and the things I’ve been through, like losing my dad, I noticed my voice changing.

It was like I was chanelling this raw emotion. My voice is completely different to how it sounded two years ago.

I think I always wanted to be a singer but I didn’t really take it seriously until about a year ago when my voice started changing. It was then I had a realisation that this was what I should be doing.

My first gig was in April, in the Old Market Square as part of the Future Sound of Nottingham competition, to see who would open the main stage at Splendour.

A lot has happened since then. I was a guest at the final at Rock City and I was a nervous wreck before it but it was unbelievably awesome. I will never forget it.

I have a manager who works for Simon Fuller’s artist management company. I met him for the first time the other day, which was bizarre.

I’m in talks with a lot of record labels and I’m down in London every week meeting with them.

And I’ve a gig in September with Natalie Duncan and Nina Smith at the Theatre Royal, where I’ll be accompanied by an orchestra. I can’t wait!

Nina is cool. She’s such a talent. Her voice is so crisp and sweet. Beautiful.

I’ve recorded about eight songs so far. I’ve been writing with John Beck, who wrote Tasmin Archer’s No. 1 Sleeping Satellite and Corinne Bailey Rae’s Put Your Record On. He’s been Grammy nominated.

I know him through YouTube. My boyfriend, James, played me a song John had written called Gabriel. I fell in love with it – I even named my cat Gabriel – and recorded an acoustic version which I posted on YouTube. John saw it and got in touch.

And I’m lucky to have a keyboard player who has performed at the X Factor final at Wembley and also with One Direction.

I’d describe my music as progressive, emotional, dark and disturbing electronica.

So far I’ve played gigs at Rock City, The Bodega, ALEA casino and the Rescue Rooms. To be playing Splendour today is surreal and I’m pretty nervous.

Indiana will be on the Courtyard Stage at Splendour today in Wollaton Park from 2.30pm. You can follow her on Twitter @i_am_indiana and listen to her music on Facebook, Soundcloud and YouTube.