On Monday, I had the opportunity to go down to London to see a very intimate gig of the very talented Alex Vargas. This was the last of his intimate shows before he embarks on a huge european tour beginning in September.
Vargas played in a quirky, underground cocktail bar in Fitzrovia - the bar was dark, mysterious and full of incense burners. A perfect location for Vargas to showcase his outstanding voice. He played a set of about 40 minutes, featuring songs such as his last single 'Till Forever Runs Out' and the beautiful, haunting track 'Solid Ground'.
He classifies his genre on Facebook as 'noise soul' - I feel this is a perfect description. His voice is full of soul, his songs begin slow and mellow, with a slow crescendo - evolving into loud but carefully crafted climaxes with the help of drum machines, repeats and sampling. All with the help of his other band member - Tommy Sheen.
Vargas has complete control over his beautiful, vast vocal range.
I feel very privileged that I was in a room of only 50/60 people witnessing his creativity and talent flourish. With support already coming from radio DJs Annie Mac, Jo Whiley and Dermot O'Leary, I expect that by this time next year, Vargas will be a prominent feature at many music festivals around the world.
Last week, I graduated university! Although I submitted my dissertation in May, this was the symbolic end to my three years of study. Here's a picture of my boyfriend and me after the ceremony, that hat was a bugger I tell you.
I managed a 2:1 overall... a 2:1!!! I could not believe it. I still struggle to believe it now! My final grade for my dissertation was 65... 65!!!!! After struggling with so much, confidence, anxiety, motivation and loads of things going on in my personal life, I am proud to say, I am proud of myself. I have learned so much, academically and about myself. I miss going to university already, I even miss the drive there on a Monday morning listening to pop master on Radio 2. I miss engaging in exciting conversation about my dissertation and hearing the ideas my classmates had for their dissertations.
Someone who has always been by my side is my boyfriend, Tom. I'm so grateful to have him in my life. I met him at the start of uni, and he's supported me through all of it; he made me do work when I didn't have motivation to, listened to all of my moans and groans about just about anything, and while I had my 15 hour stint in the library the day before my deadline, the angel brought me a McDonalds at half past 10 at night!
So here I am, Olivia Mandelkow BA (hons) Music: Musical Arts. What's next? Well I'm off to London today to review Alex Vargas' gig at the Lucky Pig - stand by for it - it will be up on Thursday/Friday!
‘Man Of The Moment’ Gregory Porter today announced details of a UK single release of a remix of his classic track ‘Liquid Spirit’, after Berlin-based electronic production enigma Claptone’s original remix version caused a significant stir on the dance scene. The collaborative radio edit version is now being released as a single, with the impact date set for 4 September.
Since its release in May, the original ‘Liquid Spirit’ Claptone remix has become an underground dance hit. It scored praise from numerous dance blogs including Divesounds.com who exclaimed: “It’s pretty hard to not be in awe of everything Gregory Porter touches and Claptone seems to have that knack of only putting out absolutely massive productions, so this remix was never going to disappoint…”
The track then began receiving multiple plays throughout Ibiza in key clubs, until it became the most Shazamed track in Ibiza and scored a number one on dance mecca Beatport. The track is on course to become a summer smash, with over 4 million streams on Spotify, 780k plays on soundcloud and 600k views on YouTube, leading to the decision to release a radio version which is expected to score numerous plays across key UK radio stations. It has already had incredible support from key shows at BBC Radio 1 including Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Danny Howard and Mista Jam at BBC Radio 1xtra.
Gregory who is primarily known in the UK for his jazz/soul inspired vocals has surprised many with his remarkable success within the dance music scene, which has also included featuring on collaborative Disclosure single ‘Holding On’, which received critical acclaim from taste makers including Vice.com, Fader and Indie Shuffle.
Nearly two years after its release, his Grammy-winning album, ‘Liquid Spirit’, shot up into the Top 10 of the UK Album Charts, reached Gold sales and became the most streamed jazz album of all time. This year Gregory’s televised appearances and performances have included his hotly anticipated Glastonbury Festival debut, Sunday Night at The Palladium and VE Day 70. Gregory plays V Festival this summer, amongst others, and tours the UK next spring – opening at iconic London venue the Royal Albert Hall on 4April 2016. For more information visit: http://www.gregoryporter.com
Unlike Gregory, whose distinctive look means he’s pretty hard to miss in a crowd, producer Claptone’s identity is a well-kept secret, with the mystical producer only performing live in a gold Venetian mask. Claptone, who burst onto the scene in 2012, has a London-based performance this summer where he will showcase his Immortal Live show on the main stage of SW4 Festival, supporting dance legends: Faithless. For more information on Claptone visit: https://www.facebook.com/claptone.official
Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit (Claptone Remix) is available to stream and download now. For more details visit: http://www.gregoryporter.com
Have a listen to the track here
APRIL 2016 TOUR DATES:
4 London Royal Albert Hall
5 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
8 Manchester Bridgewater
9 Sheffield City Hall
10 Edinburgh Festival Theatre
11 Aberdeen His Majesty's Theatre
12 Perth Concert Hall
14 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
15 Gateshead Sage
16 Leicester Demontfort Hall
17 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
19 Brighton Dome
20 Cardiff St Davids Hall
21 Poole Concert Hall
22 Plymouth Pavilions
24 Birmingham Symphony Hall
For further information about Gregory please contact:
