LISTEN: Nick Mulvey - 'In The Anthropocene'

This week in 'things which have blown my mind recently'... one of my favourite humans and musicians Nick Mulvey has shared a new track. Musically it is as gorgeous as ever but what struck me immediately was the limited vinyl pressing. Already sold out, it's a project with Sharp's Brewery - the track has been pressed onto a vinyl record made from recycled plastic which has been washed up on Cornish beaches, with funds going to Surfers Against Sewage and their work to protect British coasts. Visually the records are unique and stunning - a real eye-opening repurposing of just a few of the millions of pieces of plastic which find their way into our oceans every day.

The anthropocene is defined as "the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment." The track serves as an exploration of, in short, what our freedom means to the environment, and the responsibility that we all carry. Nick expands on the themes, explaining that "my music is about knowing who - or what - we are, right at the core; aliveness itself, conscious. These times of urgent global crisis are demanding we re-examine ourselves and the world and we raise ourselves to match the Earth, this wonder-organism from which we are not, and have never been, separate." A stand-out lyric for me is "the voices of future grandchildren I hear them asking: what were you doing, what have you done?" 

Follow Nick Mulvey - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

TOUR NEWS: Nick Mulvey (Sep/Oct 2018)

His sold out show at the Royal Albert Hall was a total joy to behold earlier this year, so I'm really glad to hear of the news that Nick Mulvey is heading out on tour again across the UK this September and October. Giving the fans what they want, Nick is heading out with his gutiar to play a run of eighteen solo shows, taking in the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Brighton, Bristol and Nottingham, with a show at London's Hackney Arts Centre on 26th September. The venues are intimate - and speaking from personal experience, I can highly recommend catching Nick playing solo, it's truly something special. 

Full dates for the In Your Hands solo tour are below, for which tickets go on sale this Friday!

The Empire Music Hall, Belfast (19th Sep); Whelan’s, Dublin (20th); Live At St. Luke’s, Cork (22nd); Corn Exchange, Cambridge (24th); Town Hall, Oxford (25th); Hackney Arts Centre, London (26th); Phoenix, Exeter (29th); Tram Shed, Cardiff (30th); Guildhall, Gloucester (2nd Oct); St George’s Church, Brighton (3rd); St George’s, Bristol (5th); Opera House, Buxton (6th); Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal (7th); Pocklington Arts Club, Pocklington (9th); Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (10th); Arts Club, Liverpool (12th); Trades Club, Hebden Bridge (13th); Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (14th).

Follow Nick Mulvey online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LIVE: Nick Mulvey at Royal Albert Hall (22/5/18)

It's no secret that I adore (and in a way, idolise) the work of the wonderful folk at Communion Music (the record label, promoter and publisher), and seeing their Nick Mulvey headline show at the rather huge Royal Albert Hall in London earlier this week was a total joy. Not least because back in 2014 his show at O2 Academy Oxford (with my fave Sivu in support) was both my first Communion gig and the first gig I ever went to by myself - the start of something brilliant!

I've seen Nick play a couple of times since then at Bushstock Festival (he headlined gloriously last year) but this was by far the biggest and most ambitious show so far, the closing evening of his UK tour promoting second record Wake Up Now. After a set from TT (AKA Warpaint's guitarist Theresa Wayman) warmed up the crowd rather brilliantly, Nick took to the stage alone, casually strolling out and surveying the crowd to rounds of raucous applause. There was an almost palpable and mutual level of respect between himself and the audience, as applause turned to silence (from, I can only assume, sheer amazement) as he began to play We Are Never Apart. 

Gazing out at the crowd a few songs in and asking "Shall we have a good night?" before declaring that "this is the coolest thing" it was clear that Nick was pretty astounded by the evening, but he oozed confidence and seemed completely at home on the stage. Mirroring this, his tunes felt like they belonged in such a venue. Last week, he shared part of a short film online where he talked about the pressure that a London gig could bring and feeling liberated from it, and in the same vein, from the idea of making music for anybody else, concluding that "there is a kind of uncertain but definitely satisfying future out there if you just do what you wanna do in the way you wanna do it" - something that I think a lot of us could take something from.

The performance ventured through songs old and new and while the quieter tunes, encouraging a level of silent wonderment from the audience, were great, it was the powerful sing-alongs that became highlights for me. Cucurucu was given a repeated first verse and closing tune Mountain To Move had everybody up on their feet but the stand out for me was perhaps Nick's biggest tune Fever To The Form, which had everybody holding their phone torches aloft and made for a bit of a tearjerker. As the first few notes rang around the venue, a slight murmur of applause erupted from the more seasoned fans, to which Nick reacted "I love this song" before describing his first time playing the tune in his old house in Clapton, and telling us that "I really fucking cried my eyes out you know." Glad to know I'm not the only one!

A refreshing part of the show was to note differences from the studio recordings... very often you go to a concert only for the band to perfectly replicate their album live, which isn't necessarily a bad thing if you enjoy the recorded music, but changing it up is always welcome and helps to keep the live experience worthwhile. This difference was particularly obvious in the opening of Remembering, a track where the studio version features some fairly prominent female vocals. For this tour, Nick's set up was notably simple for such large venues with just himself, Dan See on drums and Nick Pini on bass and keys, but the band managed to fill the space beautifully, with Nick's soulful vocals carrying around the room. It would've been nice to have some female vocals though - but that's about as far as I can go with criticising the show, because in every other aspect it was a complete joy to witness. 

During the show, Nick informed us that "this is a folk gig by the way" as if checking that we were all aware of exactly what we'd signed up for, before covering Bob Dylan's I Was Young When I Left Home. While some covers can be a little throwaway, it was clear that the track meant something to him, and he dedicated it to friends at the show who he hadn't seen enough while busy touring over the past few years. The show itself was huge but felt intimate with Nick talking of his friends, dedicating the beautiful tune Unconditional to his wife Isadora and with him speaking of his spiritual beliefs and of the difficult experiences his family have faced over the last year. All of this seemed to feed into genuine appreciation and gratitude towards each and every one of the audience as he gazed around the room at the end of the show, as well as to his band and crew, and he was paid back in powerful rounds of applause. I'd say that this wasn't a show that Nick and his team, or the audience, will be forgetting in a while.

If you missed it - check out Nick's new Dancing For The Answers EP here. 

Follow Nick Mulvey online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Nick Mulvey releases 'Dancing For The Answers' EP

The total star Nick Mulvey is back with Dancing For The Answers, a collection of four new tracks, his first release since last year's second studio album Wake Up Now. The release coincide with Nick's current UK tour, which finishes up with a show at the rather momentous Royal Albert Hall tomorrow evening (22nd May) - the last few tickets for that are here. Despite being a four track EP, the tracks are pretty epic and stretch to twenty four beautiful minutes of everything you've come to expect from Nick... those stunning lyrics, vocals and intricate guitar patterns, but there are some surprises thrown in for good measure too (listen out at around 7:30 in the title track of the EP.)

The first two tracks were recorded with Nick's long-standing collaborator and producer Dan Carey, in a week's work at his South London studio last May, where, Nick describes "we abandoned our planned schedule in favour of voyages into jams unknown [...] the results surprised us both and are two of the most precious tracks either of us feel we've ever made. A significant detail for me was the setting aside of my usual acoustic guitar in favour of a Mya-Moe baritone ukulele that I play on both tracks." 

The title track appears on the record Wake Up Now lyrically as Transform Your Game but has here itself been transformed musically, and Give It To Kali samples one of Nick's heroes, Ram Dass. Nick details that "Ram Dass' words about offering your struggles to the goddess Kali (who feeds from our impurities and our negativity) spoke to me powerfully and I'm honoured to use them in this track." 

The EPs other two tracks emerged from the Wake Up Now album sessions of October 2016 at the legendary Real World Studios in Wiltshire with Ethan Johns in the production seat. They're far more reminiscent of the second record in their style, with Nick describing"collaborative playing from the group of musicians and friends I assembled there at the time" but all four tracks come together to make a beautiful EP. 

Follow Nick Mulvey online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

WATCH: Nick Mulvey - 'In Your Hands'

Nick Mulvey returning to the live stage as a headliner at Bushstock Festival last year, premiering some beautiful new tunes and just being his generally wonderful self was a highlight of the year for me. It was a total joy to be part of the crowd, and the atmosphere was incredible. He released his second record Wake Up Now back in September, somehow matching the beauty of first record First Mind. A highlight of the record is In Your Hands and the track has recently been given a beautifully simple music video - writing of it, Nick explains that "I wanted something raw and playful and intimate. Loosey goosey, lo-fi mixed media and fun to make." Check it out!

If you like what you're hearing, Nick Mulvey heads out on tour in the UK this month. All dates except the Royal Albert Hall are sold out - grab tickets for that show (which I predict to be pretty magnificent) here.

Follow Nick Mulvey online - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Nick Mulvey - 'Myela'

If you read my Bushstock Festival write-up you'll know that the wonderful Nick Mulvey is back and totally smashed his headline set, playing to an adoring crowd of fans. Following a couple of warm up shows in Oxford, Bristol and London last week, Nick has just released another new track from his upcoming record. Myela, featuring the beautiful sing-along refrain "you are my neighbour" went down a treat at Bushstock, and the idea for the track came from Nick's awareness of the refugee crisis. Talking about the track, for which he is working in partnership with Help Refugees, Nick wrote that: 

"Like most people my heart breaks seeing the unprecedented refugee crisis unfolding across Europe. On top of this I felt disturbed and confused by the uncaring attitudes of many of the authorities and media. I wanted to write about the humanity of those suffering- how they are all people and families, with lives more or less like yours and mine. And so the idea for 'Myela' came and I began to work on it in partnership with my musician friend Federico Bruno. To be honest, we felt unworthy to write poetry about this subject. So instead we explored first-hand accounts of refugees journeys, and drew the song from there. We want to give them voice and to share that voice with the people who listen to my music, to make them aware the situation continues."

Myela and the previously released track Unconditional are taken from Nick's upcoming studio album Wake Up Now, the follow up to the critically acclaimed 2014 record First Mind. Pre-order your copy here!

LIVE: Bushstock Festival 2017

At the weekend I caught my third Bushstock Festival, a day of superb music curated by the lovely folks at Communion Music in venues around Shepherd's Bush. Highlights of 2015 included seeing this year's headliners Nick Mulvey and The Staves play secret acoustic sets in a tiny wine bar, and last year's festival gave me the chance to see Bear's Den for the first time alongside the likes of Matthew & The Atlas, MarthaGunn, Dan Croll and Charlie Cunningham. A glance back at the past line-ups shows the likes of George Ezra, Bastille, Michael Kiwanuka and Hozier playing before they were well known, so as you'd imagine the atmosphere is great and the festival has a loyal following, there to try and discover the next big thing (and like I've said many times, a line-up curated by Communion is bound to be wonderful!) As with any festival there are clashes galore and the strength of the line-up doesn't help in this respect, however despite missing the likes of The Staves, Rhys Lewis, Isaac Gracie, The Big Moon, Spring King and loads more I had a great day, here's a little round-up of who I managed to catch!

Kicking off my day was Rukhsana Merrise, who I caught on a Communion New Faces tour a year or so ago and really enjoyed. Yesterday was her first live show for a while and a chance to debut tracks from her forthcoming record, and despite playing pretty early in the day she drew quite a crowd at the Courtyard stage. The venue was a trek from the others (I thought) but worth it once you got there with food, drink and a little pop-up record store surrounding the stage which was underneath a sea of rainbow umbrellas - luckily none of them needed as the sun came out and made the day even better! Check out the absolute tune Money below...

Rukhsana Merrise at the Courtyard stage

Next up I was headed towards Defector's Weld, where two friends I'd met up with were keen to see John Joseph Brill. He seems a lovely chap and I enjoyed his EP so was up for checking his set out when my phone buzzed with a twitter notification - Seramic were the second secret set of the day. Sad to miss JJB but I'm sure another chance to see him play will come up soon, so I headed to the wine bar, met up with another friend and waited... they ran behind schedule while they waited for a keyboard stand but it was completely worth the wait. I've seen Seramic play as a full band a few times over the past months and in this stripped back set-up for a couple of tracks at the Bear's Den Christmas show in December, so knew that I was in for a treat but even my high expectations were blown out of the water. I couldn't stop smiling, the tunes made me so happy and as I watched Marcus and Layla grin to one another it struck me how important it is to see that the band are enjoying playing for you to really take something from a set. Taking us through some tracks from their two EPs, they finished off the set with Trying, my favourite track from the recent I Got You EP, wowing the crowd with some seriously crazy notes. With two really strong EPs under their belts and some seriously impressive live performances I can't wait to see what Seramic do next!

Seramic secret set at the Albertine Wine Bar

We headed back to the Courtyard stage after they had finished to catch some of Ten Tonnes' set - I've heard good things about him but hadn't listened to his music before, all I really had to go on was that he's George Ezra's brother, which seems like a pretty good sign of musical quality. I was impressed by his voice and the crowd seemed to be having as much fun as he was up on stage. He released his second EP, Born To Lose, on Friday, and I'm digging the title track (listen below) which went down pretty well on Saturday afternoon - stream the whole EP on Spotify here!

Ten Tonnes at the Courtyard stage

After a quick stop off for some food came a tough decision between Isaac Gracie and Tender Central... I've been wanting to catch Isaac for a while and after missing his set at The Great Escape had assumed I'd definitely watch him at Bushstock, and was particularly keen as he was performing in the beautiful surroundings of St Stephen's Church, but I was also curious about Tender Central, and it meant less walking as I was sticking around for Banfi in the same venue afterwards. TC is the project of India Bourne, who plays in Ben Howard's band, and for the show she was joined on stage by Banfi's own Aaron and Joe, and while I heard great things about Isaac's set from friends that were there, I was glad I'd stuck around and really enjoyed the set! Check out the beautiful Wake Me Up below...

Tender Central at Traid

Next up and also playing in Traid, one of my absolute favourite bands of the moment, the lovely Banfi chaps. It was my seventh time seeing them and they're getting better every time, the busy touring schedule is working wonders for their live performance, with slots at Dot to Dot festival a couple of weeks ago and Citadel coming up in July, as well as heir first headline tour (dates) in September which I can't wait for! Having seen them lots in such as short space of time even the unreleased tracks feel incredibly familiar, so it'll be great to hear more of them recorded as studio versions (check this exciting tweet about album mastering!) and I'm chuffed to hear that they're releasing She Comes Home at the end of this month! Get listening to the tracks they've put out to date, including Rosedale House which is below and fall in love with them in time for the September tour!

Banfi at Traid

After some quick chats and hugs with the band it was a rush back to the Courtyard, where it was far easier than I'd expected to get in for Nick Mulvey's albeit quite early headline set. He's been away working on new music and with his beautiful baby boy for a while now and it was so great to have him back playing his first live performance for some time, with a stripped back version of his new live band. I was a little unsure as the crowd chattered away over the first chords of the first track, the recently released single Unconditional, but they soon fell under Nick's spell and spent fifty minutes totally entranced by his beautiful music, as did I! Sneaking only Fever To The Form and Meet Me There into the set from his first record we were treated to an array of entirely new tracks and it really felt like we were all part of something special, singing along to tracks as we heard them for the first time, and it feels amazing to have Nick back - and the joy at the crowd's response was so clear across his face too!

Nick Mulvey at the Courtyard stage

The second Nick had finished the crowd all rushed out of the venue, with most headed towards the church to try and get in for The Staves. I knew there would be no chance of getting in for their set so headed back towards Traid where I'd left my friend, whose favourite band Seafret were headlining, so of course I had to see what all the fuss was about. The venue is a charity clothes shop, raising money through donated clothes to target child and sweatshop labour in fashion, a really interesting and worthwhile concept, and as I stood at the back of the crowd a friend from Oxford tapped me from behind the clothes rails, isn't it lovely to bump into friends unexpectedly?! Stood quite far back it seemed as if the stage was a little dark but the sound was great in the venue and I definitely hope that they use it as a venue for the festival again next year. The singer Jack has great hair and a great voice and they were a really fun way to finish off my festival - I already can't wait for the next year of Bushstock!

Seafret at Traid

If you like the sound of Bushstock, be sure to sign up to the Communion mailing list for a weekly mailout about their upcoming releases and tracks. After ten years in the business they are continually killing it, working with some of my favourite artists on some really special concerts in London and further afield. Long live Communion!! 

WATCH: new videos from George Ezra and Nick Mulvey

Loving these two new videos, both from artists who have links to the wonderful people at Communion Music. The first is for George Ezra's new single Barcelona, taken from his chart topping debut record Wanted On Voyage. After first hearing his music a couple of years ago I'm chuffed with how well he is doing in the mainstream charts and would recommend getting along to a gig of his if you can, his London headline date in February at O2 Academy Brixton was superb.

The second is this video to support a reworked version of Nick Mulvey's beautiful track Cucurucu by Frédéric Lo. I saw Nick back in October mainly because Sivu was supporting, but after seeing his captivating live set and listening to his record I've fallen for his music. Recently I saw him playing a secret set in a tiny wine bar in Shepherd's Bush for Communion's Bushstock Festival, a brilliant surprise and a highlight of the day for me!

LIVE: my day at Bushstock 2015...

I've been to a couple of local free festivals, and had half a day at Cambridge Folk Festival a couple of years back, but on Saturday I took a trip to London (again) and had my first proper festival experience at Bushstock. After being offered the tickets by a wonderful friend who won them but had already bought some, I made the last minute choice, the day before the festival, to go along. In retrospect - brilliant  choice. Organised and run by Communion, you know you're in safe hands in terms of the line-up, as  the label has ties with the likes of George Ezra, Ben Howard and Half Moon Run. Though I left early and didn't check them out, this years festival was headlined by Lucy Rose, Michael Kiwanuka, and Villagers, with various other fantastic acts throughout the day.

As the festival started up, we checked out Ady Suleiman at The Courtyard, a new and intimate stage area in an outside part of The University of the Arts. Being a particular favourite of my friend's, his set was a no-brainer, but I went into it blind, having not heard any of Ady's tracks beforehand. What might be described as R&B with soulful vocals and harmonies, I found his set impressive, performing tracks from his recent release This Is My EP with his talented band.

Ady Suleiman

After Ady's set we grabbed some food and dashed around to the beautiful St. Stephen's Church, where Frances was playing. Having recently played on the Communion New Faces tour, I came to this set more prepared, but my expectations were exceeded. I'm not one to constantly compare artists, but she could be seen as a Rae Morris and Adele hybrid of sorts. Basically, Frances isn't short of talent. Her style suited the church venue perfectly, and her set was topped off by a beautiul performance of her recent new track 'Grow' (below), which is the title track from her upcoming EP, released July 10th. A brilliant, chilling live artist, you can catch her live at Servant Jazz Quarters in London on Wednesday 14th October.

After this set we decided to head to the Albertine Wine Bar, where the first of three secret special guests, Alex Vargas, had just been announced. Having heard good things of his music but not having listened to him, this was another great musical discovery of the day, alongside a wonderful stage presence and great stage banter, his haunting style filling out the intimate, packed wine bar in a stunning way. He must be doing something right as he's just sold out four dates in London this month, so I guess I should also be grateful to have seen him fairly early in what will probably be a fruitful and long career in music. Certain that the special guests could only get better, we decided to stick around and wait for the next announcement - particularly as there was apparently a huge queue to get into the venue for the second set. Shortly, this was announced to be the incredibly talented Nick Mulvey, a particular favourite of mine. As expected, his set in this jam-packed bar was incredible, and I felt genuinely lucky to have witnessed it. Time ticked on and the speculation was confirmed, the third act were The Staves. I was aware of their music and how well loved they are in the folk community, but again I hadn't really listened to them (it was a day of brilliant discoveries!) The harmonious, quiet, unplugged set from the gifted sisters was a pleasure to listen to. In short: Communion weren't lying when they said they were 'special' guests, it was a superb mini line-up.

Alex Vargas

Nick Mulvey

The Staves

The final act of the day that I checked out before choosing to leave early as I was tired and needed to catch a train home, was Port Isla at Bush Hall. I'd heart about them for supporting James Bay on his recent UK tour, and my friend was keen to check out their set. The set was energetic and fun regardless of the band being down a regular member, and I'm interested to take a listen to the band's EPs to see how their recorded music sounds.

Port Isla

It's my opinion that once you scratch the surface, the music industry is far smaller than it first seems, and this is obvious nowhere more than at this sort of day. Throughout the day I saw various artists, music industry people, and friends around, and everyone that I met was incredibly friendly - even the security! Overall I had a great experience at the festival which is fairly new, in only its fifth year, and I'd definitely consider going along to the festival next year!

LIVE: Nick Mulvey & Sivu at O2 Academy Oxford (12/10/14)

Last week I saw Nick Mulvey play to a sold out O2 Academy Oxford, with support from Sivu. It was a mixed crowd to say the least - screaming young girls to the left of me and a family with some young (8/9 year old) boys to the right. The appeal of Nick's music is clearly wide, which is never a bad thing. Furthermore, appeal is clearly quite big considering the show, and many of the others on the tour, was sold out.

Having only really taken a few listens to tracks from his debut album First Mind I wasn't exactly sure what to expect of his live show, but I knew that the Mercury Prize 2014 nomination the record received could only be a good sign. And with Sivu supporting I knew I was in for a treat regardless. His set, played solo and acoustically, was stunning and the crowd (though slightly restless from waiting over an hour after doors were opened) were respectful. Sivu, aka James Page, admitted being nervous as he usually played with a band, though these nerves didn't show in his performance.

Mulvey came out to screams, and set the tone of the evening straightaway with the atmospheric April. I found his set incredibly captivating, and was blown away by the way that he made his style of playing guitar look so effortless.

The set contained tracks mostly from the debut record, to the pleasure of the crowd, and even included a couple of solo performances. Much to the crowd's excitement the band even played their Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home cover (video) igniting a loud sing along and livening up the crowd leading up to the encore and title track, First Mind. 

All in all, meeting both Sivu and Nick after the show and purchasing two fantastic CDs (that I have since been playing on repeat) and making it back to my halls easily after my first solo outing to a gig whilst at uni, I had a wonderful night.

Live dates for Nick Mulvey can be found on his website here, his UK tour continues until 31st October, with Sivu supporting throughout. Later this year, Sivu supports Bombay Bicycle Club on their UK tour.

Sivu released his debut album on the 13th, more info here.

LISTEN: Sivu - 'Something On High'

This week James Page, aka Sivu, released his debut album Something On High. Describing his music as 'alternative pop' and citing influences from Wild Beasts to Frank Sinatra, he's likely to appeal to fans of artists such as Bombay Bicycle Club, who he tours with later this year alongside Peace. 

You can stream the whole album above, and get it on iTunes, Amazon, in record stores etc, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do - it's already one of my favourite records of the year. Particular favourites of mine from the album include Sleep and the hidden track Family Tree.

Currently touring as support act for Nick Mulvey, Sivu took a day out from this tour to play a stunning headline London show (video) at Oslo Hackney on Tuesday night. In the past he's also played alongside the likes of Rae Morris, London Grammar, Marika Hackman and The Staves.

He's certainly one to watch and has already received critical acclaim from The Guardian, Sunday Times and NME. Furthermore he played in session for Huw Stephens on Radio 1 earlier this week.