SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC SCENE

I come from a smallish town called Northampton which is situated in the middle of England where people assume not much happens, but whilst I was living there I was out pretty much every weekend seeing one band or another. Most of the time I was off supporting the bands my friends had created and through this I met loads of other musicians and music fans just like me. It sounds cheesy but I wouldn't know half the people I do today if I hadn't gone and seen local bands in local venues.

(Demidow Photography aka the coolest lady ever, 'Grynn' based in Northampton)

Northampton had a pretty tight music scene, it was impossible to go to a gig and meet someone you hadn't already bumped into at a different show. Maybe this was because there was roughly 3 different tiny little venues where these events would be held, but it created a community of people who had a mutual respect for each other. Yeah, maybe we didn't all see each other outside of shows but I knew if I wanted to turn up to a gig by myself I would always find someone there that would talk to me. A couple years after I joined the music scene I noticed some changes, people started to care less and less about the shows and less people started turning up to gigs. A lot of the time people would turn up to watch their friends band and then leave after they've played, for me this is the shittiest thing you could do. I can't count the amount of times the venue's half empty after the support, it's plain rude.

Going to local gigs is one of the cheapest ways of having a night out, you get to listen to music and have a dance and most of the time the tickets aren't more than a fiver. Most of the time bands aren't looking to make a load of money, they just want people to hear their music, so they keep entry fees low and chose venues they know are easy to get to and where the drinks aren't too expensive. Even if you don't know what the band sounds like or who they are, finding new music is never a bad thing, even if you don't like it, you know that now at least.

The main reason supporting your scene is so important is for the artist. Local artists need these local shows to give them the support and momentum to get bigger shows in bigger cities. No artist gets songs together and goes straight on a world tour, even Ed Sheeran played in his hometown pubs before getting recognised. If you need more of a reason to see these shows, people love to gain bragging rights by seeing an artist before they got big. It's also just nice to see people you know doing something they love. Some of my favourite bands are bands I know from my hometown, and they're also some of my best friends which is the best thing ever.

Expanding on making friends in the music scene, simply bands support bands. If you, like me, are in the music industry in any way, having friends who are already in the industry will want to support you if you've supported them. Getting a job through contacts you've found or contacts people you know have made is way easier than just throwing yourself at people who have never heard from you. If you want to start a band and you already know a tonne of musicians from local gigs you've been to is going to be more simple than trying to find stranger online to play music with. If you need someone to open a show for you, already knowing bands in the local area makes the job a whole lot easier.

Another absolutely VITAL part of the local music scene is the local venues. Without these venues there won't be any music scene at all, no one comes to the shows, no business for the venues, venues shut, no shows at all. Local music venues are already under attack from local councils and 35% of independent music venues in the UK have been shut down in the past decade for various reasons, so the ones that are still open need supporting. With big chain pubs and bars taking over from independent venues and pubs they're already struggling but the musicians and music fans need these safe spaces to perform their art to the people who want to watch.

Basically don't be a dick, support your friends.

my top songs of 2018

This year saw a massive change in my music taste, joining a music journalism course showed me I needed to listen to and be more open about all types of music. I've always been someone who struggles to listen to a full album and much prefer just making a playlist of my favourite singular tracks but I'm working on it! Hopefully I can pull together my favourite albums of this year to share with everyone before the end of December.

'Grim Reaper' by Suzi Wu has been a song I've listened to on repeat since its release in October. I loved her Teenage witch e.p last year and she's bought the same perfect mix of punk and pop alongside real and hard hitting lyrics. The 20 year old is releasing her second e.p 'the sound of pop turned inside out' in January next year which, if this single is a representation of her new tracks, will be a 2019 staple for me.

Daniel Caesar and Free Nationals teamed up to release a mellow R&B single 'Beauty & Essex' which is the lead single for the new Free Nationals album. This song is possibly one of the most slinky and sexy songs released this year, it's got an incomparably smooth bass line and Caesar's voice is beautifully soulful, singing lyrics themed around loneliness and longing.

'Sway' is a song I only recently found, Swedish pop star Tove Styrke made her comeback this year releasing her new album. 'Sway' is the first song on the album and explores romantic vulnerability and her anxiety around romance, much like the rest of the album. The lyrics show emotions that relate to experiences many people encounter. Under the lyrics, a strong rhythm defined by hand claps and electronic drum samples gives the track a beat to dance to whilst also giving off a chill and relaxed vibe.

Billie Ellish released an abundance of music this year. 'When the party's over' was my favourite of the five releases this year. The piano mixed with her breathy vocals and harmonies meant that the simplicity of the song hit with so much raw emotion, which left her stand out voice to tell the story perfectly. Her voice is outstanding and doesn't remind me of anyone else is the music industry today, giving her a raw edge at such a young age. 'When the party's over' is a single that is so incredibly well written both lyrically and instrumentally, the song doesn't sound empty or acoustic even though there is just the piano, vocal and the harmonies. Whenever I hear it I'm in complete awe of her, the range of her voice is insane and her lyrics are gorgeous and sang so seamlessly, she makes me incredibly jealous.

Poppy confused many people when she released her new album, 'Am I A Girl?' on halloween last month. An album infused with a mix of metal and her usual alternative pop vibe. My personal favourite song on this album is 'Play Destroy' which she wrote with Grimes, the song constantly switches between intense metal drums and guitar into girly pop which to me shows how the glossy pop star image often covers up something much darker, Poppy says her collaboration with Grimes is about wanting to take down large corporations and how they both find it exhilarating.

'Let me down' by Jorja Smith and Stormzy is a song that hit me like a tonne of bricks. When I first heard this song her silky vocals had me melting and when I read further into the lyrics I wanted to cry, they're so meaningful and honest, you can hear her emotions while she sings these words, especially towards the end of the song where she sings, 'I tried but I just can't give you up'. Stormzy fits perfectly into the track, you know when someone just throws a rapper into their song to get more recognition (*cough* Girls like you - Maroon 5 *cough*), but he adds to much emotion and context to the track. This is a song that will always make me emotional, the video is also beautifully shot and directed.

Slowthai is the newest grime artist on the scene right now, he seems to have blown up overnight. Us both being from the same area of Northampton I was surprised I'd never heard of him as his music is fucking sick, specifically the single 'Ladies'. This is the song that led me to discover him, he featured of The Colours Show on Youtube singing this song against a beige background. I love the lyrics over the low-fi melody and buzzy bass line.


IDLES are my favourite band. Their latest album blew me away, I fucking love it. 'Great' is my (and my mums) favourite song off the album, they bring an amazing punk essence to talk about the UK's problems, the music video for 'Great' talks about Brexit and shares the belief of just under half of the UK, that Brexit is bullshit. The song comes at a time when many young people are confused about what their future holds and this song beings a little bit of hope to me, showing that people want things to change.

I didn't like any of Courtney Barnett's previous albums, but her 2018 release 'Tell me how you really feel' is one of my favourites this year. 'Nameless, Faceless' is a realistic feminist song that shows no mercy for her haters. With lyrics like 'I wanna walk through the park in the dark', 'woman are scared of man who kill them' and I hold my keys between my fingers' are frighteningly real words for many woman, putting them all into one song over pretty, harmonious chords and contrasting distorted guitars has paid off for Barnett, creating a catchy and iconic song to bring taboo'd subjects to light.

Lucy Dacus is a new artist for me, I had never heard of her until one of her music videos was recommended to me on Youtube. Her song 'Night shift' is complied of relaxing guitar tones and vocal smoothness whilst she sings dark lyrics contemplating her feelings towards her breakup. Her voice is so soft and under appreciated, I love her range and the words she writes are so beautiful it's impossible to find a flaw. Towards the end of the track the acoustic vibe of the track belts into a rocky guitar with powerful vocal ad-libs, when I hear it I just want to jump around and fuck things up.

‘Forever always’ is a collaborative masterpiece by Peter CottonTale, featuring up and coming young artists and songwriters Chance the Rapper, Daniel Ceaser, Rex Orange County, Madison Ryan Ward and Yebba. Seeing all these artists together on one track you may not know what to expect, personally I thought it would sound too mashed together to include these popular names, but their different voices blend perfectly over the dreamy keyboard, jazzy guitar and church like choir.

I've added a link to my spotify playlist where you can find these singles if anyone likes any of them and wants to have a listen! There's also a couple more songs on there that I loved this year. They're in no particular order, I love them all equally.

((https://open.spotify.com/user/charlieelizabeth123/playlist/7hi27NbDnVYS8Qy3qKu3Jb?si=pOPZ8mvWToibo_y1wbPbGQ ))

Echo Beach! headline show

Echo Beach! are an up and coming indie rock band making their way to being one of the most predominant bands in the Birmingham music scene. Their biggest headline show took place last weekend, 9th of November, at Birminghams O2 institute. The show also featured 4 bands similar to their headliners promising a great evening of music. After queuing for half an hour in the pouring rain we collected our tickets and continued to the third floor. They had a pretty good turn out, most of the room was full of people who like me and my friends didn't buy any drinks, we weren't spending £7 for a beer. 



 Due to the queuing for tickets I missed most of the first band. From what I did hear, The needless were alright. The threesome were wearing suits, but the outfits didn’t match their sound. They were clearly trying to look like a cohesive band but it just wasn't working. The original songs they played were pretty standard indie rock songs and they performed a  good Arctic Monkeys cover but there wasn't anything that particularly defined them, no stand out features of their music or aesthetic. 




The second band on stage were called The Space. To me everything they played sounded the same, there wasn't enough variation between their songs as the drummer played the same rhythm through nearly every single song they played bar one or two. The most interesting and stand out part of their music was the lead guitarists solos, he easily played smooth and well written guitar riffs through every song which gave them some of the variation they so desperately craved. The last song The Space performed was their best by far, I would name song name but to be honest I had absolutely no idea what the vocalist was saying both during and in between songs, the drummer played a heavier drum rhythm which actually changed up between the verse and chorus. The band looked more comfortable performing this track and I seemed stronger than the rest of their set, the song had more rhythm and gave a stronger sense of the bands sound. Overall the group needed to be a bit tighter and confidant in themselves individually, being able to connect and vibe with each other on stage to bring the audience more into the performance is something that would've improved their set. 


'The Pines' were the third act of the evenings line up, the band bought a strong energy from the get go coming on stage and immediately talking to the audience with confidence asking everyone how they are, bringing the audience into their set before we had even heard them play. Their genre is best described as brit rock/british invasion with heavier guitar solos and heavy drums. They all looked comfortable and confident and it was obvious they were enjoying themselves. 'The Pines' had amazing stage presence and there was a strong focus on the instrumental as well as lyric. The passion was oozing from the front man as he jumped to and from the mic while slamming his guitar and dancing along to his music. The second song finished on a lovely instrumental guitar as the band announced ‘to be honest this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played’, I was surprised as I couldn’t tell with how well they held the stage. They are all clearly talented musicians individually and once put together their talent is pushed into well written songs and energised live performances. In between songs they held good conversation with the audience, after each song saying thank you and checking everyone’s ok. The fourth song sounded straight out of the sixties and even after only a couple of chords I was excited to hear how the song would delvelop. The strong 60’s bass rhythm was impossible not to bop to and fiercely reminded me of The Beatles sound, very upbeat and happy which continued throughout the song, The fifth song included nice scratchy vocals which showed a really nice variation in their music,. I got a strong throwback to the old Arctic Monkeys album from the sixth song which was added to by the strong british vocal and higher pitched guitar with fast pace drum fills. My boyfriend said he got more of a kasabian vibe, early 2000’s indie vibe from the entire band which I could vouch for, but I think these guys are better than Kasiabian.The only thought I had was to maybe throw one or two slower acoustic songs in there to add contrast within their set even though a couple of their songs did have slower parts, they always built back up pretty quickly. The entire set included very catchy up beat songs that were easy to dance to. They were a very strong, clean and tight band over all with well written music and some interesting guitar solos and instrumental parts under well written and sing a long lyrics. 


'Window Weather' looked very professional, their set up included two laptops, two sample pads, two keyboards,  one drum pad plus two cymbals. Between the three of them they created a synth pop set made up of ambient vocal harmonies. The cymbals sound super pretty mixed with the drum pad and the synth combination created a chill atmosphere which contrasted well with the rest of the acts from the night. The audience moved right forward to listen to them once they started and swayed along whilst they played. The first and second song contained beautiful harmonies which were made possible by using a harmoniser keyboard on the background vocals which added heaps ambience to the song. I describe these songs together as they sounded the same and I did originally think they were one song with just a small break in the middle. The set was very passionate vocally but I couldn't help but feel like it needed a full drum kit on top of the electric samples, the songs sounded good and clean but there was something missing. The samples would sound lovely and relaxing on a recording but for a live performance the music needs to be adapted to sound good in the new environment. The third song featured a cool shaker over strong, deep electric keyboard tone giving a darker vibe to the track but got repetitive as the song went on. I was distracted from the main vocal as he was off to the side of the stage, the guy triggering the samples standing in the middle, I wasn't sure why he wasn't the main focus as I would've said he needs to be in the middle. Maybe this was because of technical set up and I'm just being easily distracted. Throughout the performance. found myself wondering why there was so much to their set up, from the amount of tech on stage it didn't seem like there was that much in their music, the band didn't seem to get too into the music as they were focusing so hard on the technology, they created a barrier of expensive music gear between them and the audience. The drum pad gives endless possibilities, especially when plugged into a laptop yet this guy is using seemingly the same 3 samples in every song. To encapsulate the performance it sounded nice but after a couple songs it just got repetitive and felt like it needed a change. The music was pretty, but to me there needs to be more to music then it sounding 'nice'. 


'Echo beach!' The headliners came on to a massive cheer from the audience. They started playing a walk on track for their lead singer and bassist who entered and faced the drummer whilst she started to play. I'm not sure if this was for dramatic effect or what but for me it closed her off from the audience, almost projecting a sense of her importance. The first song showed off the musical talents in the band, strong vocals, confident well written guitar solos and immense amounts of stage presence. Halfway through the song there was a contrasting dropout of instruments before going back into the chorus where the vocalist impresses with some super cool riot girl inspired shouty vocals. The third song, 'this is breaking my heart' was funkier and featured a strong rhythm guitar with the classic 'indie' chorus effect. The vocalist again brought her strong attitude, almost acting out her lyrics with her facial expressions which added so much character to the song, grooving along to the dance solos encouraging the audience members to do the same. Obviously with band being made up of three lads and one girl there is going to be references made to Wolf Alice but here I reference the sound, influences such as Wolf Alice and Black Honey are unmistakable within their tracks solidifying the indie rock genre of their music. Halfway through their set, Echo Beach! play a cover of Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend, the best part of this cover was how much fun the band was having whilst playing it, the vocalist was having a blast dancing round the stage shouting into the microphone as the crown shouted along, at the end of the song there was a drum solo that seamlessly transitioned the song into another cover, this time they played Amsterdam by Nothing But Thieves. Both covers were well rehearsed and well chosen songs to get the audience up and dancing. Then they played 'Juggernaut' which didn't do too much for me, it felt as if it was missing something that I can't quite lay my finger on, as soon as it started building up it finished. It was no where near bad, it just didn't seem as polished or passionate as the rest of their set. Their final song 'she' started with a lovely smooth chord progression then adds a super funky bass and lead guitar. I recognised this song instantly from their Spotify, the audience did too and were singing at the top of their voice. This is the song where the band looks the most comfortable and at home on the stage, it has an infectiously catchy rhythm and fun character to it which just makes you want to dance. The set was impressive and strong on everyones part, there wasn't anything to complain about which is different for me. I really enjoyed watching their set and it was definitely worth waiting in the rain for and I will for sure be going to see them again soon.

My Journey With My Skin

I didn't know wether to write anything about this but I remember when I was struggling I needed something like this to read. Have this extremely low quality photo of me.

Acne is something I have struggled with for 8 years, does't sound like too much of a problem to some, but living everyday with painful spots for so long at an age where appearance starts to become your life really does take a toll of your mental state. The past 10 years has seen drastic developments in acne treatments, many of which I had the fun time of trying out. If you couldn't sense it, that was sarcasm.

When my skin first decided to ruin my life, I thought nothing of it, probably hormones right? Everyone is bound to get spots at some point in their life, no need to fuss. Many people go years feeling just fine about having acne and I salute you! There is nothing wrong with having acne and theres no reason to be ashamed or feel bad but I was surrounded by young girls who had perfect skin, I'd never been taught about skin care and such. I started using make up to cover up my skin, I can't say if this made my skin any worse but I thought it'd make me feel a bit better about myself. This applying of make up became a large part of my daily routine for the next half a decade. I would wake up hours before school started to scrub my face with whatever medicated face wash I had brought that time, desperate for just one of these miracle spot products to work. Then I would start my self taught make up routine, no moisturiser as that contained oils and I had been told oil caused acne. Bright orange foundation, dream matte moose of course, and mascara, the only make up I knew existed.  I would repeat this when I returned home from school incase anyone would come round and possibly see my bare face.

very soon my acne got worse and worse, and yet more painful. I must have been 13 when I first visited the doctor about my skin, I was told to stop worrying about my appearance and that soon enough they'd go away. The words of doctors from countless appointments have stuck with me for years and continue to make me feel embarrassed whenever I look back on them. Many months of appointments with different doctors with all of them implying I was vain and dismissed me when I asked about different treatments I could try. Finally after years I was prescribed a peroxide cream, at the time this was the best spot treatment available for prescription, there wasn't much research about causes of acne but at this point I was in so much pain, the doctors were obliged to help me. This cream seemed to work until the day I woke up to find it had burned my skin and large chunks of my face peeled off with ease. More appointments, more creams, no success.

Now acne research is swaying towards bacteria causing acne, so I'm prescribed a low dose of antibiotic, one every day to two years. Two years later I'm back with another appointment, not only have the antibiotics not worked but my skin is worse, new research shows that acne isn't caused by bacteria so that was a waste of time and now the doctor doesn't know what to do. I'm told to 'try and stop eating dairy' which may or may not cause acne, she doesn't really know. Surprisingly this does't work and my self esteem is at its lowest. I won't leave the house, I cover my mirror with posters and I sit in the dark incase of any reflective surface allowing me to see my skin. The doctors tell me to stop making a fuss and i'm effectively left to my own misery.

My poor mum does't know what to do. She can't stand seeing me misserable so searches the internet for any sign of hope. Through this period of time I try Chinese herbal treatments and therapy that blames phycological problems for acne, clear mind clear skin I am reminded. This is my life for a while. I lost all hopes of having clear skin or any shred of self confidence, and again I am told my appearance isn't everything and that I'm still beautiful but how is a young teenage girl supposed to believe that when she's surrounded by so many 'perfect' women, girls who have a couple spots on their period and shout about how ugly they look for a couple days and advertising for spot treatments telling me i need to find a quick solution to be beautiful?

Yet more money spent on every new spot product I walk past, still ridden with acne getting worse and worse. I'm put on the birth control pill, hormones are being researched into by skin care specialists so maybe this could work? Nope, my skin reacts awfully to the new medication in my system but I stick with it, and stick with it, and stick with it.

(Sorry to be repetitive)I'm back at the doctors. I'm sitting by myself, I've been crying all morning. I don't want to be here to be told again that I'm wasting their time, but this will be the last time I'm there, I decided with myself that this will just be what I look like forever, dramatic I know but its been 6 years and nothings happened. Here's where something good actually happened. I'm referred to the dermatology ward of the general hospital where they've started prescribing a new treatment, Isotretinoin. Lucky me is a perfect candidate for the treatment, and get prescribed it straight away. Every four weeks I go get my tablets and checked over by the nurse, I do this for 18 months. I've been off the medication for 8 months now and my skin is absolutely spot free. I don't want to go to much into Isotretinoin as I am not an expert in it at all, I'm merely saying it's what worked for me so if you feel you'd want to try it then talk to a professional.

I wanted to get this out there was for people who have felt discouraged by doctors talking about their skin, I know first hand how much of a phycological affect acne can have on you, its something someone who does't have acne won't understand. I felt so stupid for so long due to doctors comments and I don't want other people to think theres no options. The biggest thing I took from this whole ordeal was that no one else was bothered by my skin. People I know say they never took much notice and they certainly didn't think anything of my acne if they even noticed it. Now I have beautiful skin in my opinion, I'm allowed to be vain about it I have definitely earned it, but when I get compliments on my skin I tend to go into the whole Isotretinoin spiel then realise I can just say thank you.

Basically, acne isn't a big deal to most people, but it's allowed to be a big deal to you if you suffer from it. There is no taboo in talking about how you feel about it and there is always something that can help you get clear skin if you want clear skin! Also don't spend loads of money on medicated skin care products, they pretty much never work.