HL London: A Preview of Emerging Artists from The London Scene

Fall 2015 showcases the abundance of talent on the London Scene with drop dates and gigs from ILana J and her cheery pop anthem, England, to the gritty sounds of Angeline, post punk rock Zurich, Rent & Debt Records Skellums, and  indie band The Train Set

 

Ilana J
Free Falling From The Ground Up 
Ilana J Music 
14 September 2015

Lead Track: Paper Planes, England

Ilana J is a British singer songwriter. Having turned down the opportunity to enter the prestigious London College of Music at thirteen in favour of a more traditional academic education, a successful healthcare career followed, but her soul has always craved a more creative outlet.

Following an extended visit to the US in 2008, Ilana made the decision to devote her life to songwriting and recording, diving into intensive musical training on both the guitar and the piano, and immediately writing prolifically, as if the lyrics had always been there just waiting to find their way out.

Ilana J's musical style has evolved naturally, influenced by the likes of Sting, Coldplay and Keane, and although her musical journey has been a solitary one, her passion has brought her to the attention of key people who have worked with her to nurture her talents. A chance meeting with Mark Alexander, ex-keyboard player with Meat Loaf, has resulted in him becoming her producer.

The resulting debut EP 'Free Falling From The Ground Up' is inspired by how she feels now that music is back in her life where it belongs; " I am letting the music and the lyrics 'free fall' out of me and am growing everyday from the 'ground up' which is intensely fulfilling on a whole new level".

The six track record has provided a single which will be released on September 14th 2015. Entitled 'Paper Planes', the track was inspired by her trauma as a teenager when her younger brother tragically died. With the passing of the years the pain has receded and this song is dedicated to his memory with a message of hope and peace. The accompanying video, filmed in New York City, will be released in the first week of September.

Ilana's songs express simple and heartfelt themes of love, joy and real life; influenced by her own life stories and her core values of love and appreciation for the beauty of the world we live in. 


Social Links:
Website - www.ilanaj.com
‘England’ video -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91MD9R7GvwI
EP Tracks on SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/ilana-j
Twitter -  https://twitter.com/ilanaj_sings
Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/IlanaJ.songwriter
Instagram -  https://instagram.com/ilana.j.music/

 

Angéline is a French singer songwriter who has been based in London in recent years, Her EP 'Back to Pike Place' is an absolutely beautiful record that takes its listeners on a journey from London to Havana, drawing on the sounds of the streets for inspiration.

Released in mid-September, Angéline will be available for live sessions and interviews. Please do get in touch to make arrangements.

Angéline
Back to Pike Place 
18 September 2015

Lead track: Black Butterflies

Originally from Loire Atlantique in France, singer/songwriter Angéline is now based in London, the city in which she studied for her music degree. She describes her latest EP 'Back to Pike Place' as bold and raw, contrasting with the more traditional nature of her first EP 'Home', released in October 2014.
 
Writing the songs for 'Back to Pike Place', Angeline explored her ideas through the creation of demos with backing vocals and sounds made with whatever she could find in her room, tapping rhythms on her guitar or desk. Demos were sent to her collaborator Garry Cosgrove who arranged Angéline's tracks, striving to keep her organic sound. This is the key reason why she considers the EP to be particularly interesting. "It was made at home using whatever we had around us. The purpose was not to be limited by money that I don’t have, finding a way of creating songs with whatever is around me."
 
Of the tracks on the EP, Angéline says "‘Aama' is a very special song. I wrote it to pay tribute to Nepal using my Nepalese friend's testimony. Knowing how much suffering the earthquake caused I decided to give away the song in return for donations via justgiving.com. All funds go to the D.E.C charity for Nepal.
 
Inspiration for the EP has also come from Cuba. Angéline wrote these songs after visiting Havana recently to pursue her passion for Salsa dancing. The influence of Cuban beats can be heard clearly in the percussion on each of the tracks, but she also recorded the sounds of the streets, doing the same in London on her return. Those sounds link eack of the EP's tracks, taking the listener on a journey and highlighting the huge differences between her two favourite cities.

Live Dates:
EP Launch party: 13th September - The Floripa, 91-93 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3HZ (Old Street Tube)

Social Links:
Website: http://angeline-music.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/angelinemusicpage
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/angelinemusicpage
Twitter: @Angelinesings
youtube: http://youtube.com/angelinemusicpage
Instagram: angelinephotopage

All tracks written by Angéline Morand with Garry Cosgrove
Mixed, produced and mastered by Garry Cosgrove
Photographer : Melissa K Parker
www.melissakharper.co.uk
Artwork : Tina borkowski
http://www.tinaborkowski.com
 

The Train Set
Never California 
Firestation Records 
7 September 2015

Lead Track - She's Gone, Stop Stalling (Sob Stories), Beautiful Monster

Back in the mid to late eighties The Train Set emerged from the Crewe/Winsford indie music scene to make an impact on the Manchester and Liverpool gig circuit as well as the national music press. The band released two 12" singles which both broke the Indie Chart and performed at venues across the country including gigs at Dingwalls, the Astoria in London and Manchester's Hacienda.

The nucleus of the band, Clive Jones (vocals), Andy Boote (guitars) and Mark Shaw (Bass) met at school. They recruited Adam Halford (drums) from Winsford and Dave Hassall from Chester (keyboards) and soon became the tight unit that was eventually signed by renowned Manchester DJ Dave Haslam to his Playhard label.

Briefly managed by Nathan McGough, also manager of The Happy Mondays, the band embarked on a national tour with the Happy Mondays and supported the likes of James at the London Astoria. They were featured in both the NME and Melody Maker through interviews and features by Stuart Maconie and Robin Denslow.
 
Compilation album 'Never California', released on Firestation Records, features The Train Set’s highly sought after singles including 'She's Gone' which was the band's first record, recognised as a stunning debut by the press and selected as NME's single of the week when it was originally released in 1988. Writing in NME, James Brown said "The Train Set have done their growing up in private and will now have no trouble copping off with the entire teenage nation of orphaned Smiths fans". Stuart Maconie described ‘She’s Gone’ as "sleek and shiny, fizzy and witty", predicting "The Train Set will be huge when the world sees sense". Well, whilst we wait for the world to take heed, immerse yourself in these finely crafted songs and enjoy a band that made a significant impact on the music scene amongst the abundant indie/jangle bands of that era.
 
This compliation contains previously unreleased tracks from a band that had promised so much but disappeared far too soon. The original members have come together to oversee the release of this retrospective album, providing a vital listening experience and an opportunity to discover The Train Set’s material again, or perhaps for the first time.

Zurich
Small Wars 
Kestrel Records 
21 September 2015


'Zurich' are an English Rock Band from Oxford who play widescreen post-punk rock with a nod to the darker side of eighties electronic pop. Earning an impressive live reputation in a competitive Oxford music scene, the band comprise of Adrian Banks (Bass & Vocals), Chris Gillett (Guitar & Vocals) and Leigh Taylor (Drums & Samples).
 
Zurich have just finished working on their highly anticipated debut EP 'Small Wars' with award winning producer Gary Stevenson.
 
"Imagine that Simple Minds ate Echo And The Bunnymen and Big Country for breakfast and you’re halfway there. Zurich will go far."
Fresh on the Net
 
"Zurich are not to be taken lightly… they can only continue to grow in stature."
QH Music
 
"A new, upcoming band ready to fully blossom into being – the release could very much see them emerge from the shadows in style."
The Fix Magazine
 
"You’ll be instantly hooked… the ones to watch out for…"
So So Gay Magazine

Social Links:
http://www.zurichofficial.co.uk
http://facebook.com/ZurichOfficial
http://www.twitter.com/ZurichOfficial
http://www.soundcloud.com/ZurichOfficial
http://www.youtube.com/ZurichMusic
http://www.instagram.com/ZurichOfficial
http://zurichofficial.bandcamp.com

Debut single ‘Alone’ is streaming from - https://soundcloud.com/zurichofficial/alone
 
Available for free download from –
http://www.zurichofficial.co.uk
https://zurichofficial.bandcamp.com/track/alone


Small Wars Tour:

Fri 18th Sept - AKA, Banbury
Sat 19th September - Bullingdon, Oxford
Sat 26th September - The Rafters, Maidstone
Sun 27th September - Homegrown Ox & Bucks Festival
Tue 29th September - Wild Boar, Warwick
Fri 2nd October - Verve Bar, Leeds
Mon 5th October - Bannermans, Edinburgh
Wed 7th Oct - Lancaster University
Thu 8th October - Dublin Castle, Camden, London
Sat 10th October - Dog & Parrot, Newcastle
Wed 14th October - White Bear, Barnsley
Sat 17th October - South Sea, Sheffield

Introducing Skellums

Skellums have been mentioned to us as a band to keep an eye on for a little while now so we're delighted to finally be working with them!

Do let me know what you think of this EP!
Andrea x

Skellums
Clarion Call EP 
Rent & Debt Records 
10 August 2015

Skellums was formed because "there was nothing else left to do".

The band strive to produce music with dignity and meaning rather than aspiring to join the long list of bands who have success, but nothing to say.

Forming their own record label Rent & Debt Records, their mission is to take on the world, one little venue at a time.

Underneath all the dirty guitars and pounding drums, there lives a pop song. Skellums believe, that as long as you have a decent melody, you can get away with all manner of noise. Pop songs with dignity.

In a world where every band has the same barber, and shares the same River Island gift card, Skellums are a little different. They may be a little rough around the edges, a bit pissed off and scruffy, but they certainly have something to say.

Band Members:
Roberts
Watson
Crichton
Courtney

Social Links:
www.facebook.com/skellums
www.twitter.com/skellumsmusic

Gigs:
Friday 21st August - Zanzibar, Liverpool
Saturday 29th August - Eric's, Liverpool
Sunday 30th August - The Corner Flag, Sunderland

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