It must have been around about 2017 when I first heard Freya Ridings. I was working in JD Sports in Colchester and it was added to the playlist. Every now and again they'd chose a slower song to switch things up. The song at the time was Blackout. This memorable, piano-driven melody, ghostly in essence. … Continue reading Freya Ridings | Album Review
After what seemed like an endless tease all day, Chance The Rappers much-awaited debut album 'The Big Day' dropped. It's really strange to say 'Debut' being that Chance's mixtapes over such a long period of success have felt like albums in themselves, but The Big Day is arguably his strongest and certainly his largest release … Continue reading Chance The Rapper is Back with ‘The Big Day’ | Album Review
Since practically the dawn of time, people have debated the best ways to write, and best environmental factors to include or exclude. Many people write with music, many people write without, some even write with just classical music without any vocals. Is there actually an answer to which is better?
I wrote before about how Deaf Havana in their last album All These Countless Nights seemed to be moving into a new direction tonally, experimenting with what they could, effectively, get away with. Just the other day, they released their new single 'Sinner' from their newest upcoming album. Sinner lets us sink our teeth into … Continue reading Meet Me Halfway at Least to Rituals; The Musical Evolution of Deaf Havana
As I first mentioned in my post From Sweet Songstress to Poetic Pop-Star; The Musical Evolution of Gabrielle Aplin, with each release, Gabrielle Aplin provides us with a new feeling of musical growth. Avalon continues this tradition, with an almost transformational atmosphere of freedom. Our first official introduction to Gabrielle's new release was the song Waking Up … Continue reading Avalon – Gabrielle Aplin | E.P Review
It's quite an interesting experience listening to this album, not just in terms of its quality, but because of it's appeal. It seems to provide two types of intention to it's tone and musicality: formulaic and poppy and also raw and nostalgic. Which is a strange and obviously dichotomous partnership on paper but seems to … Continue reading ÷ – Ed Sheeran | Album Review
Stormzy's newly released 'Gang Signs and Prayer' is effectively the greatest "Fuck You" to any grime doubters, or any that refuse to accept it as a valid genre. Even though the album merges, rather well, other genres like Gospel and old style R&B, the core and essence is still unashamedly grime. So, as a result … Continue reading ‘Gang Signs and Prayer’ is An Important Player In The Rise of Grime | Album Review
When you're a creative type of person and you take the decision to pursue a career in one of the many creative sectors, especially those heavily public ones, many will agree that the chances of you suffering some form of mental illness are quite high. That is not to defer anyone from following their dreams, … Continue reading How To Be A ‘Creative’ And Deal With Mental Illness
The reason creativity and the arts are so important is that they lay the foundations for a personal support network and a fundamentally beautiful way of perceiving the world. Last night I wrote a poem (pictured below) about the reason I write, and the fact without doing so, I would struggle to emotionally survive as … Continue reading Seeking To Understand; Creating To Survive.
Deaf Havana have always been, for me, one of those bands that accompanied my teenage British countryside years. What I mean by that is that their music has seemed to relate to me, one way or another, because the tone often seemed to strike a note with me. As if their music had that naked stripped … Continue reading All These Countless Nights – Deaf Havana | An Album Review
Liam Xavier 