Here Comes the Summer Playlist

Even if Summer has yet to really arrive in the UK this year, we can dream about it and while we’re doing that, we need a Summer playlist which is where I come in.  This summer, I’m teaming up with Angry Baby to share our Summer playlist; not only that, Angry Baby is also giving away lots of lovely free music for you to download, so keep reading all the way to the bottom to get your free music links*.

Thanks to Flo at Angry Baby for sharing her blogs with me here:

  • In Hoodies, She Got Caught:

When I first heard She Got Caught, I instantly fell in love with it, in fact this is probably one of my favourites of all of the songs I have given away on Angry Baby. Everything about the song makes it something I’d want to listen to all the time, as different aspects work well in different moods. The melody is quite relaxing and calm, but there is a certain quality to it that is more than that, and it adds another level to the music entirely. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but you can listen for yourself and see what I mean!

  • Jay Woodward, Blue Sky Blue:

At first what stood out to me about Jay’s music was the relaxing melody, but when I listened to the song a few times I noticed the meaningful lyrics. Jay’s songs are based on his real life experiences of death, bereavement and grief and so the words are very poetic and deep. His vocal style is distinctive – intimate with an overlay of blues on a backdrop of folk. I found myself leaning in to listen more, absorbed by the mood.

 

  • Albert Man, Cheap Suit

What comes first, the music or the words? – its one of those ‘chicken and egg’ questions, but Albert Man knows his answer:

Lyrics are so important to me. I always have a theme I want to write about first and try to get a title. I then write the lyrics before I start adding any music or melody. I will re-write the lyrics so many times too until I get something I’m happy with.

His new album, Cheap Suit doesn’t disappoint. A mix of quirkiness and pathos, it provides social commentary, viewed through the small stuff. Things that happen and thoughts that arise, unremarked and fleeting, are given a moment of deeper reflection, conjuring up a response of “ah yes!” and “me too!”

  • Danielle Lewis, I’ll Wait

Danielle’s voice has been compared with Karen Carpenter and, although her tone is lighter, the effortless emotion that merits this comparison is apparent in the second track of the EP I’ll Wait. In complete contrast to Anywhere is Home, this is a soulful ballad that exudes romance and demands to be heard in the arms of someone special. Lovers of female vocalists will applaud the purity and control that flows from phrase to phrase, supported by the simplest of strings.

  • Hugh Kelly, Give Me All Your Love

Britain’s blue-eyed soul scene has been in resurgence recently, thanks to artists like Adele, Sam Smith and Joss Stone. But wouldn’t you like to hear a voice with a more lived-in quality? Hugh Kelly leaps out of the speakers with a tone that growls with the gravitas of life experience, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen or the late Joe Cocker. If we believe what Harry Chapin told us, back in the 70s, maybe it’s the drinking he did on his last big gig that make his voice go low?  That’s not far off the mark. Hugh puts the strength of his voice down to time spent in pubs and bars, but as a singer, not a drinker. That, together with busking unamped in the streets of his native Edinburgh, built the power in his vocals so he could be heard above the crowd. Take a listen and I guess you’ll be as amazed as I was to find that Hugh isn’t some long-standing musician with a back catalogue stretching through generations of music making. No, he is a 21-year-old newcomer, doing it all by himself (with help from dad, Tom) and already receiving accolades from local music press and radio.

Thanks Flo for sharing some of your favourite new music with us, love the voices of Hugh Kelly and Albert Man especially!

In order to get your free music from Angry Baby, just click on the links below and start creating your Summer 2016 playlist!

In Hoodies – She Got Caught

Jay Woodward – Blue Sky Blue

Albert Man – Cheap Suit

Danielle Lewis – I’ll Wait

Hugh Kelly – Give Me All Your Love

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