THE NU - 'THIS IS WHY WE DO IT'


'Welcome to The Nu. The futuristic music project has ambitions to reach NU heights, creating pumping soundscapes for the 21st century; The NU combines the electric atmosphere of the dance world and the raw energy of rock n roll to pioneer a transformative approach to music. Drawing inspiration from acts such as INXS, Crystal Castles and Janes Addiction, expect future releases to dive into countless spectrums of euphoria that has every intention of sparking that increasingly precious goose bump feeling'

The Nu is a brand new music project started by BIMM Birmingham student Darius Zaltash and it is taking the students by storm. I'm certain soon enough it'll be pretty hard for everyone else to ignore this music. The name 'The NU' is a fitting name for the project, so far Darius has released one track on The NU Spotify, 'Natural Monsters' but is set to release more tracks this year. 

The upcoming release 'This is why we do it' has been teased on Facebook, but lucky me got a sneak peak before it's release on the 5th of February. This new track is a full on dance song, as soon as I heard it I could picture the light shows and packed venues, it made me want to dance. Sometimes I feel dance music sounds too overproduced and busy, but all the different elements of this new song work incredibly well together, the synths blend in with the vocal perfectly and the rocky guitar solo doesn't seem out of place at all which is an ode to how much Zaltash knows about music.

The quality and knowledge put into the production really shows, with no one instrument sticking out over another, excluding the guitar solo of course, but even then it doesn't take away from the rest of the instrumental for its entire duration. I have to give Darius a round of applause, his voice is perfect for this genre and he genuinely sounds amazing. Even with all the instruments behind it his voice stands out and sounds so strong.


Expect big things to come from The Nu over the coming year, a new single next week, a music video in the making and some really exciting shows coming up including the Birmingham Music Awards in February! I can't wait to see where he's going to take this project in 2019!

MY TATTOOS AND HOW I LOOK AFTER THEM

Quickly before I start I would just like to remind everyone that I'm not a tattoo artist, neither am I covered head to toe in tattoos. I get asked questions mostly about who did my tattoos and how many I have, I just thought it might be a nice thing to write about as when I'm out my tattoos seem to be an interesting subject of conversation. All artists I mention will be linked at the end of the post. 

The first tattoo I had done was my little feminist symbol, I got this to remind myself who I am and what I fight for. This tattoo placement honestly didn't hurt much at all for me, it only took about 10 minutes and is only the size of a £2 coin so no trauma there.

I got my next tattoo maybe a month after the first. This is another smaller one, it hurt a little more than the first as the skin on the inner thigh is quite sensitive. I got the fingers crossed for a little hope/luck going into 2018, I knew how much would change in that year and thought a little tattoo might help me remember my goals for the year.

 By this point I was tattoo obsessed and wanted beautiful artwork all over my body. I found a lady called Sophie Jess based in Northampton and knew immediately that I needed a tattoo by her. I threw myself into the deep end and gave her the idea of a floral half sleeve which she absolutely nailed. The picture above is after the first session, I sat for about 4 hours while she did the line work and we had a lovely chat. The majority of this didn't hurt too much but the inner pat of my arm where all the nerve endings are was a bitch, it was so incredibly sore but I powered through and I'm still in absolute awe of this tattoo.

After a couple months I went back to get the finishing touches done. She added in some adorable leaves at the back and, instead of shading everything, created these awesome looking line and dotted details which again, I absolutely adore. I can't imagine having anything else on my arm now, this tattoo is just perfect.

Small but sweet matching tattoo with my boyfriend. We got these whilst in Skegvegas (Skegness) on the pier, we just wanted a little something to remember our first little holiday together so we drew up a little sun setting over the sea. This is on the back of my arm just above my elbow and so is his so when we hold hands they're next to each other (too in love I apologise).  This tiny tat didn't hurt at all but if you ask my boyfriend he will tell you it was one of the most painful things he's ever done.

Another holiday memory! Not a great photo but this was taken right after I had it done, the woman was extremely heavy handed and it felt like the was cutting my skin with a scalpel which wasn't pleasant. I got this whilst in Newquay at the 'Tattoo and Brew Company' which is a little cafe downstairs and a tattoo parlour upstair, love it. I have't been on many holidays so I decided to get a little something when I can just to have a permanent reminder of the lovely times I've had. Like a sort of photo album on my body.

This was my first tattoo after I moved to Birmingham (and got my student loan) so I took my time to find someone I really thought did cool art. Elle Donlon drew me this gorgeous dragon that lined up perfectly with my little hearts and arrow tattoo I already had. This is the only colour on my body as of now and they're the most amazing pinky shades that make my dragon so adorable while still looking badass. I love the mix of traditional with the love hearts, I think it just looks absolutely awesome, she's amazing!

(I apologise for the awful quality, I had to use a collage app to make this, I'm terrible at technology.) These little guys are my big and little sisters initials, they're both very important to me so I wanted to be able to look down and know they're always with me. They're in a simple typewriter like font, I didn't want anything fancy or too bold, I just wanted something easy to see. I wanted their initials to be facing me when I look down at them as they're on the inside of my wrists, they're not too noticeable to others. 

My latest addition to my tattoo collection was this baby, again done by Sophie Jess. She again worked her magic and made my shin look wonderful. This one hurt, tattooing right on my shin was not the most comfortable, especially closer to my knee! It was 100% worth it though, my photo hasn't done justice, dot work gives my favourite finish to a tattoo, I'm not sure if that makes sense but the way it shades it without making it too dark. That was a big worry of mine when getting tattooed, I have quite a small frame so I didn't want to look too overwhelmed. I love dark tattoos but I just don't think I could pull them off, but who knows?

To look after tattoos you should obviously listen to whatever your artist tells you. I've used cocoa butter on all of mine, it's all natural, cheap and does a wonderful job helping to heal up tattoos. I use cocoa butter for everything, as well as on tattoos I use it as lip balm, I put it on little scabs and also on any dry skin on my face or body, it's a wonderful product and again, it's ALL NATURAL! I like to use coca butter on my tattoos after they've healed as well, normally after I get out the shower i put a little bit over them just to keep them looking fresh and give them a little shine. I also try to moisturise my skin with a nice creamy body moisturiser everyday just because I have quite dry skin and I think the moisture makes my tattoos pop but that could just be me.

Sophie Jess - https://www.instagram.com/bloodflowerstattoo/

Elle Donlon - https://www.instagram.com/elledonlon_tattoo/

WHY 'SEX EDUCATION' IS SO IMPORTANT

After binging all 8 episodes of 'sex education' I knew I needed more of this series. It's wonderfully witty humour won me over pretty much from the start. You've got the classic shy boy taken in by the 'rebel girl' with a dark past and coloured hair, sounds like an 80's American high school flick. It's nothing too out of the ordinary, apart from the underground sex clinic. As strange as it sounds, the sex clinic in this show is helping to normalise the problems that seem to be so hush-hush in society.

The storyline is new and truthful, it deals in depth with problems many of its viewers face and possibly struggle with. That's the beauty of the series, there's no holding back. You get to see people talking openly, awkwardly none-the-less, about a previously quite silent topic. Kids talking about their feelings towards sex, loosing their virginity, and the social pressures to 'be good' at it or even just 'do it'. It also looks at the characters struggles with mental health, exploring sexual orientation, identity and how their families (or lack-there-of) impact their lives.

Not only does 'sex education' show people that problems they can face are perfectly normal but it talks about sex properly and shows there is always help, though it is probably best to see a therapist with a license. The storylines followed in the series are important and show in depth how certain things affect different characters lives, without objectifying them or patronising anyone.

One of my favourite aspects of the show is that it hasn't got a star studded cast, the newer faces give a fresh feel to the show and almost make it more realistic that these actors are actually their characters. There has been commotion about the British-Ness of the show, lots of the sportier or more 'popular' characters wear varsity jackets and typically 'American' clothing. The school building and homes that the characters live in in the series aren't very similar to typical British architecture but personally I think it look more interesting compared to the grey school picture I would go to.

The main cast gives a compelling performance and holds a lot of chemistry. Asa Butterfield plays the main character Otis. His mum is a sex therapist who doesn't give a second thought about boundaries and they have their ups and downs. His main story line follows his childhood trauma which gives him troubles through the more intimate scenes, it's a lovely contrast between his relationship with sex and the advice he gives while running the school 'clinic'. His almost love interest Maeve is played by Emma Mackey. The pink haired, troubled teen suffers through family problems, a mum with drug problem and the growing problem of teenage pregnancy and abortion. The way the show portrays her pregnancy story is very raw and true, something most shows don't get quite right.

Ncuti Gatwa plays my favourite character, Eric. He is a black, gay teenager who has to face ridicule from his parents and peers, I was worried that his story would be overlooked in the show but you get to really know how he's feeling and what he is thinking as his character develops. Jackson, played by Kedar Williams-Stirling, was a really interesting character, he starts off as nothing more than a jock but as the episodes go on you understand his anxieties and the pressure he's under from parents to be their perfect child. The school bully Adam, Connor Swindlles, is introduced to us as, to put it plainly, an asshole but seeing his struggle with girlfriends, his parents and his identity you begin to feel sorry for him and want to see him come to terms with them properly.

It hasn't been confirmed wether 'Sex Education' will get another season or not, but the writers have suggested that they've already started working on it. This is one of the most relevant and easily relatable shows I've binged for a while, I will be extremely disappointed if I don't get to see more.