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.

Shide Boss

October 2012

A MUSICIAN from Basford has won Best Newcomer accolade at the Asian Music Awards.

Shide Boss, 24, picked up the award at Wembley Arena on Thursday night.

“It’s crazy,” he says. “To say I’ve only been around for one year, to win this is incredible.”

Shide, born in Lenton but raised in Basford, performed his next single, Kangna, at the ceremony, watched by thousands of people, including his mum and dad.

“They were on my table and they loved it,” says Shide.

“And I had about 20 family and friends in the crowd, who’d come down to see me.”

The tenth anniversary awards were hosted by BBC Asian Network’s Tommy Sandhu and BBC 1Xtra’s Sarah-Jane Crawford.

“To be performing on the same stage as Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Imran Khan, who are both living legends in the Asian music scene, was unbelievable.

“And my performance went down well. The crowd went crazy.

“A lot of people said I stood out because of my jacket. Everyone was talking about it.”

He bought the blue leather jacket from Nottingham vintage shop, Hyena, in Lower Parliament Street.

Shide went to the after-show party but the teetotaller was back home in Nottingham by 7am the next morning.

He says: “They had a hotel for me but I like getting back to my own bed.”

It’s not the first time the full-time musician has picked up an award.

He won a competition on the Hollyoaks Unsigned Music Show, a spin-off from Channel 4’s teen soap.

“We entered the show on the last day,” says Shide.

“I was at my friend’s house and he mentioned that the show, which is like a modern day Top of the Pops, was looking for unsigned acts to enter a competition.

“Two days later I got a call saying I’d made it to the finals in Liverpool.

“There were ten of us in all and it went to the public vote, a bit like The X Factor. And I won it.”

He adds: “As well as winning the title I was in an episode of Hollyoaks, which was really cool.”

Soon after he signed to Karman, part of the Sony group.

“I actually just wanted to be a songwriter but because they liked the way I sang and the way I looked they put me in the spotlight. I’m just running with it.”

Shide, who was a big Michael Jackson fan when he was younger, has only been making music seriously for around a year.

“I’ve been concentrating on the Asian scene but I feel I have the potential to cross over.”

His debut EP, Ni Sohniye, was released on iTunes last year and earned plays on Radio 1, 6 Music and 1Xtra.

His first proper single, Kangna, will be out in December.

He says: “It feels like the beginning. I’m firing on all cylinders now.”

For more about him go to www.shideboss.com.

Nottingham music 2011

December 2011

DESPITE a consistently rich local music scene, chart success has been, to say the least, disappointing. You have to go back decades to find the last time a homegrown band or singer made any impact on a national or international scale.

And even then it’s hardly credible: Su Pollard, Paper Lace, erm, Alvin Stardust. It’s perhaps only sixties blues rockers Ten Years After who you’d really want to shout about.

There have been others but the connections to the city start to hang by a thin thread. Stereo MCs moved to London before they were Stereo MCs. Ditto Tindersticks. And yes there was that bloke from Air Supply... it’s hardly Madchester.

But this year has seen a real change in the fortunes of our music scene.

Even The Guardian wrote about it with the feature: “Nottingham’s music scene: soon to be heard?”

“The most exciting thing about the successes of 2011 are the implications for 2012,” says Mark Del, a champion of local music who set up Nusic to promote Notts artists.

“With Dog Is Dead, Jack Bugg, Natalie Duncan and Shide Boss all signed to majors I predict at least one top-ten album and maybe even that hallowed number one.”

He adds: “I think girl power will continue. There’s a growing momentum behind Nina Smith and Opie Deino. And I will be dumbfounded if Ronika and Harleighblu don’t make some serious moves in 2012.”

Following all the names familiar to local music fans are the new kids, such as Kappa Gamma and Kagoule, who won the chance to support Dog Is Dead at Rock City last weekend, plus Great British Weather, Frankie Rudolf, Rob Green, The Bystanders, Saint Raymond and Boots Booklovers.

Says Mark: “There is a lot of talent in the colleges and cul de sacs of suburban Notts.”

He concludes: “2012 will quite simply be the most incredible year of all time for the Nottingham music scene. Sorry about sitting on the fence there.”

Here are the ones to watch...

DOG IS DEAD
AT the weekend the South Notts indie quintet played a headline show at Rock City at the end of a year that has seen them sign to Atlantic Records (the home of Bruno Mars, Plan B and Ed Sheeran), support Bombay Bicycle Club on their UK tour, play major festivals such as Latitude, Bestival and Leeds/Reading, get airplay on Radio 1 and despite the free Burberry clobber look scruffy at Milan Fashion Week. A follow-up to their debut single for Atlantic, Hands Down, is expected within weeks, with the album due in the spring, following a headline UK tour.

JAKE BUGG

THE 17-year-old from Clifton was another major label signing for Nottingham this year, snapped up by Mercury Records, who flew him to Nashville last month to record his first single for the label. His single Someone Told Me was playlisted on Radio 1, he was at Glastonbury for BBC Introducing and last week he opened for Example at his sold-out Rock City show. Jake, whose influences include Donovan, Don McLean, Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles. continues his residency at the Glee Club from January 13.

SAM BEETON

HIS song Under The Fence was played on Radio 2’s Graham Norton Show – twice! And yet he’s as yet unsigned to a major label. Instead the 23-year-old from Carlton has been self-releasing his music through his own Record Club, which has over 2,000 paying subscribers around the world. And he’s continued to model for Burberry, hanging out with the likes of Paul Weller and Kanye West. He will release Under The Fence as a single on January 9 – and a Radio 2 playlisting is imminent.

RONIKA

SHE has been dubbed “the Madonna of the Midlands” with three EPs this year of 80s-influenced dance pop that has earned her attention from the Mirror, the NME and the Guardian who described her as “destined for pop greatness in 2012”. This year Ronika, who lives in Carrington, has played Madrid and New York. Her next local gig is at the Bodega on March 23.

SPOTLIGHT KID

ANOTHER band self-releasing material – their second album Disaster Tourist came out in the autumn – and yet they earned a slot at Glastonbury, were playlisted on Radio 1 and had the Guardian writing about them this year. And they’re one of only a few bands in the UK making music rooted in the “shoegaze” movement of the early 90s.

LIAM BAILEY

STARTED the year at the head of the pack contributing vocals to the Chase & Status Top 5 hit Blind Faith, while already signed to Polydor Records. Prior to that the Beeston soul man had released singles on Amy Winehouse’s Lioness Records label, 2am Rough Tracks and So Down, Cold. But after just two singles, You Better Leave Me and It’s Not The Same, he and Polydor parted company. The album, Out Of The Shadows, which he’d recorded with Salaam Remi (producer for Lauren Hill, Nas, Amy Winehouse), was never released.

But Liam’s not finished just yet.

His single When Will They Learn? was played on Radio 1 just last week. He’ll be at the Bodega on Wednesday for Soundhism’s Christmas party, 9pm-3am.

NINA SMITH

THE 25-year-old released her debut EP this year, Lonely Heart Club, a collection of acoustic soul/pop tunes. Lead track I Won’t Forget You was played by Tom Robinson on BBC 6Music and on Absolute Radio. A dance remix of Lonely Heart Club by Kumarachi had a few airings on BBC 1Xtra. Nina has also supported Finley Quaye and Alesha Dixon this year.

She says: “It’s been a great year for us. We’ve seen so many acts get signed, perform on the festival circuit and get, well deserved, national recognition. For me supporting established acts, getting national radio play and receiving great press for my first EP has made it a wonderful year. Bring on 2012!”

Nina joins Liam Bailey, Royal Gala, 1st Blood and others at Soundhism at the Bodega on Wednesday.

NATALIE DUNCAN

LIKE Bailey, moved to London before being signed to Verve Records, the home of Jamie Cullum, DJ Shadow and Diana Krall. She was featured on the BBC 2 three-part series Goldie’s Band: By Royal Appointment, in which the drum’n’bass star put together a band of unsigned musicians to perform for Prince Harry. This week she started work on her debut album.

SHIDE BOSS

AFTER winning Channel 4’s Hollyoaks Unsigned Music Show, a spin-off of the teen soap aimed at finding Britain’s best new talent, the 22-year-old was signed to Karman, part of the Sony group.

“We entered the show on the last day with no real aim but to get our song It’s Alright out there,” he says.

His debut EP, Ni Sohniye, a mix of pop, R&B and Asian beats, is out now on iTunes.