Author: Joseph Jordan

DECEMBER 2019 – PLAYLIST EXPLAINED

23rd Dec 2019 — Leave a comment

It’s Christmas time so this month’s playlist has a festive twist. As per usual most of these are not going to be songs you won’t have heard of but are simply tunes that I’m listening to at the minute.

There are some local artists in here so make sure you check them out as well. The list is bizarre this month but Christmas does that to you.

Last Christmas – Pale Waves

This cover of the Wham! classic Christmas hit is actually really good. Pale Waves aren’t necessarily my favourite band in the world however this cover really works for me.

The song takes the sadder elements of the song and ramps them up to ten bringing a completely new vibe to the song.

The song is only available on Spotify but is definitely worth checking out for a different twist a Christmas classic.

I Dream Guillotine – IDLES

IDLES are one of the best bands out there at the minute the mixing of aggressive punk rock with loving lyrics is a perfect marriage of two juxtaposing forces.

With the disastrous election result earlier this month this song has all the more importance. It doesn’t fit with the rest of the playlist but I really don’t care.

Camel Crew – Sports Team

Last month Sports Team treated me to the best gig of the year at the Riverside which has made me go into overdrive about this Cambridgeshire band.

Camel Crew is a perfect indie rock song with a soaring chorus and a bittersweet quality to it.

I could have picked any Sports Team song they haven’t released a bad song and with an album on the way in the new year the group could be the next big thing in guitar music.

The Motorist – Nation of Language

Probably the strangest song on the list with a real eighties electronic vibe to it.

The song sounds a bit like New Order with a dreamy twist to it which I really like.

The band who come from Brooklyn are just the latest in a long line of great artists to come out of the Big Apple.

All I Want for Christmas Is You – My Chemical Romance

I’ve put this in simply for the bizzareness of it. Who doesn’t want Mariah Cairy infused emo?

It’s everything you could hope for as cheesy and over dramatic as the original with extra additional angst.

With the band’s return recently, there was no way this wasn’t going on.

Nice Guys – Easy Life

Similarly to Sports Team, Easy Life are building a really good collection of songs.

This song is a particular highlight with the pop elements coming to the forefront of their dream pop sound.

It’s very good and ramps up the excitement ahead of their debut album next year.

Trip Advisor – Primary Colours

The new single from the Newcastle based band is definitely a change in direction for the group.

The song is powered by a wall of sound and is another great addition to the bands backcatalogue.

The Keeper – Blossoms

As it stand the first two singles to come from Blossoms’ upcoming third album really paint the record in a good light.

Both this song and ‘Your Girlfriend’ display a change in direction for the band as well as both piercing into the band best five songs.

The album sounds like it has the potential to be their seminal record with both previous album being good and solid but nothing in particular to write home about.

Everything – Dream Wife

Dream Wife are amazing, their 2018 debut album was one of the most underrated album of the year and deserved more recognition that it gained.

This song however comes from their debut EP and I’m completely infatuated with it.

It captures everything (pun intended) which is great about the band and comes together really well. I really love it.

2000 Miles – Pretenders

A classic Christmas song which has such an amazing guitar riff which is immediately recognizable and is extremely catchy.

The song does everything that a Christmas song should do in being memorable as well as having a touch of sadness to it.

Some people will disagree with me but the best Christmas songs all have a hint of sadness to them or are flat out sad songs.

However, unlike other Christmas songs this doesn’t get melodramatic which is a hard line to balance upon which is proven by my final song…

Stay Another Day – East 17

It has it all it’s melodramatic, it has more cheese than a Dairylea factory and it’s got those damn bells.

However, it is a bit of marketing genius that this song is even a Christmas song because let’s be honest it isn’t.

It is so shit that it completes the circle goes all the way around to becoming amazing. A weirdly endearing song for being a commercial product from a boy band but it worked and is now a Christmas staple.

Keeping it Down with Sheds – Their Plans for 2020, New Music and their Manic Live Shows

16th Dec 2019 — Leave a comment

It’s a cold Friday evening in December however the Think Tank? is packed with young music fans, awaiting them are four local bands making up a lineup packed with talent from the region.

Amongst them are Sheds, a band who already have a huge following of young fans which packed out the venue for their support slot.

Sheds – Live at Think Tank? – 06/12/19

This has really energised the band who have seen their fanbase grow from strength to strength.

“Yeah, I’m buzzing for it, practices for this have gone quite well. It’s one of the few opening gigs we’ve done and we‘ll see how it goes down because we usually just play to our own fans. We’re excited to see how it goes down with others.” said the band’s singer, Frank Cook.

“We’ve played a couple of times here. We were meant to be playing Underground but got moved up here. So we’ve ended up playing here again. We’ve had a three-hour scramble to get people to go to the right place. We’ve played more gigs here than anywhere else.”

The Crowd @ Think Tank – 06/12/19

The band certainly did go down well, with a weighty crowd of young fans filling the floor with the band smashing out a mixture of covers and original material.

Included in this was the band’s new single “Keep It Down” which is closing in on 1,000 streams on Spotify.

The reaction to the single has stunned the band:

“It’s been a bit mental and it’s coming up to 1000 streams after a month we didn’t know how people would react because we just do gigs. It was one of the older songs so it was nice to put it out and hopefully, we can do better but it’s set the tone for us it’s mental how it got received really.”

The single takes influences from Arctic Monkeys as well as various indie rock bands with a strong riff which really powers the song along.

Guitarist Tom Robson also cited the Black Keys’ ‘Turn Blue’ as another huge inspiration for him.

However, the main influence for riff writer, Tom Robson, came from a very different place.

“The biggest inspirations were Tame Impala and Arctic Monkeys I had the riff for ages I just stood in the corner at mine and he played the riff and Frank played his chords and we looked at each other and we knew it was going to be good.”

“It comes together very quickly not a lot of thought goes into it. We have good ideas and it’s just about doing it. Once in a while it just clicks and we have a song.”

The band don’t plan to stop there however with new songs constantly being worked on as well as various gigs which are planned for the new year.

They plan to get the new year started with a bang when they headline the Surf Cafe on the 3rd of January with the money raised from the gig being put back into the band in the form of recording a single or even a debut EP.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5tI3BphlPj/

The plan is to keep gigging throughout the new year:

“We aim to play a show in April or May time.”

“There are more venues popping up all the time. I love the Surf Cafe I go down there at the weekend.” said guitarist Tom Robson.

Sheds are part of a growing music scene in North East which are currently exposing the North East as a hotbed for fresh, new music.

Sheds are very happy to be part of this amazing community of musicians:

“We had no idea about the music scene around here until we started. If you’d asked us a year ago, we’d be happy to just be on the circuit. There’s definitely a community of 20 odd bands. Everyone’s great and tight-knit and amazing at what they do.”

“We love Fowl, Frank loves his punk. We love Stasis, Distance are really good as well.”

Both Distance and Fowl featured alongside the lads that night in what was a high energy show from all three bands.

Sheds – Live from Think Tank? Newcastle – 06/12/19

The huge mosh pit which grew as Sheds performed showed the groups talent at getting the crowd going.

Despite this, their growing fan-base will have to wait a little longer for new music from Sheds:

“It won’t be soon for the EP, it’ll be a few months more. It’ll be more likely to have a single out first. For the EP, we want to write new songs instead of recording old ones. We want to write it properly we won’t release it until it’s as good as it could be. It could be 6 or 8 months but we’ve got new spins on things.” said guitarist Tom Robson

However, the band nearly didn’t make it this far.

The band, which had its origins in a high school music class, nearly called it quits.

“We were shit for a year and Tom nearly left because it was shocking after summer we formed but we got our shit together when we got offered to play a schools gig at the O2 and if it hadn’t gone well we wouldn’t have been a band anymore,” claimed Frank Cook.

“The response was good even though we were shit. But we learnt how to do it properly,” said drummer, Joel Bell.

Whilst the band are hungry to grow even bigger they wouldn’t want to have a huge fan-base.

“Realistically we’d like to keep gigging around. We’ve got a fan-base which is growing out from people we know. We’d like to fill a room but as long as we have an identity, we don’t really want a massive fan-base.”

The band dreams of Glastonbury whilst admitting headlining is probably highly unlikely for them.

They did, however, give their views on the 2020 lineup as well as past lineups.

“For Glastonbury, I was hoping they’d get Led Zeppelin or something like that for the 50th.”

“I’m disappointed that there’s no current band headlining it. I like The 1975 whilst they’re not my favourite band, I would have liked to see them headline this year, rather than The Killers or something,” said singer, Frank Cook.

“A modern band would be better. I’m not a fan of McCarthy headlining but the more I’ve thought about it the more I’m like that’s alright.”

The band’s high energy shows are definitely worth catching so get down to the Surf Cafe this January to catch them.

Gig Review – SPINN @ The Riverside

5th Dec 2019 — Leave a comment

SPINN rocked the Riverside on Wednesday night with a lively show in front of a soaked set of fans.

However, it didn’t take long for the band to warm up their fans, performing songs from their latest self titled LP.

Immediately upon watching the band it is clear to see the love and devotion shown towards the group from their fans.

SPINN @ The Riverside – 27-11-19

This was a mutual love, however, with frontman Johnny Quinn giving a shoutout to fans at the front who had SPINN tattoos.

Quinn himself, as well as the rest of the band, put on quite the show smashing home various songs with a confidence and swagger.

It is this which is refreshing about SPINN, in a genre filled with wannabe hardmen, they refuse to buy into that.

Instead treating their fans to beautifully crafted indie pop with dashes of shoegaze thrown in for good measure without the laughable macho bullshit which has become rather tiresome.

Quinn on stage is very reminiscent of a Matty Healy or Morrissey just without all the far right tendancies and racism (not Matty).

To watch him is fun and it’s clear that he is having just as an amazing time as the audience is.

Whilst SPINN don’t reinvent the wheel they certainly do put on a great show. Make sure to check them out if you get the chance.

Gig Reviews – Sports Team @ The Riverside

27th Nov 2019 — Leave a comment
Sports Team @ The Riverside – 25/11/2019 – Joseph Jordan

I’ve seen some gigs this year but Sports Team on Monday night was right up there maybe even the best I’ve seen over this long, long year.

It’s incredible to think that a band without an album out yet managed to sell out the Riverside, the third-largest music venue in the city, but that is a testament to the music that the London based band produce.

Since the release of their 2017 debut single Stanton the band has only grown in stature regularly being found on ones to watch lists.

The fast-paced indie tunes matched with the genius lyrics of which stick in your mind from the first listen does prove that you can go far as long as you have the music.

It is all this which makes their rising status so much more believable. However, Sports Team isn’t just a band which produces excellent music but can also bring it to their live shows as well.

The band got everything right on Wednesday night bringing their unique approach to indie to the Toon.

Alex Rice – Just Chilling – photo by Andrea Navarro as well as the featured image

Visually, the flower-laden set and lights show are welcome but nothing out of the ordinary, where the band excels is their own personal performance from Ben Mack masterclass on the keyboards which is as unique as anyone.

But where Sports Team really excels as a live band can be found in their frontman, Alex Rice.

Rice is perhaps the finest up and coming frontman I’ve seen delivering the energy needed to propel these amazing songs into the stratosphere.

Whether it climbing speaker stack, crowd surfing or good old incomprehensible gestures to those watching him. He truly is mesmerizing to watch.

Speaking to people outside the gig it’s clear that fans agree with many displaying their love with vivid sexual imagery.

Whilst the gig was amazing, there was some unsavoury scenes whilst the crowd, for the most part, were incredible, one punter failed to see the whole gig due to being hit by a flying glass (seen below).

No one wants to see it and similar events are becoming a growing problem at indie gigs with a girl being burnt by a flare at Liam Gallagher and the various complaints about flares which have been made during the latest run of Catfish and the Bottlemen gigs.

Whilst different dickish behaviour was seen at Sports Team last night, it is part of a bigger problem currently facing this genre’s fans.

However, this is not the problem of the bands, who have responded brilliantly to it but more to do with educating the toxic set of fans which feel like this is acceptable.

Despite this Sports Team hit a home run on Monday night and I can’t wait to see what their new album will sound like especially after seeing a preview of some of the new songs last night.

Gig Reviews – Sorry @ Northumbria Institute 2

25th Nov 2019 — Leave a comment
Sorry perform at Northumbria Institute 2 – 22/11/2019 – Joseph Jordan

Almost a year to the day since they supported Shame at Newcastle University, Sorry returned to the North East this time for their own headline show.

With support from local band Swine Tax as well as up and coming experimental jazz punks Muck Spreader, the London based band put on an electric set.

Swine Tax opened the show with an explosion of punk proving themselves to be once again ones to watch for the future.

The Newcastle based band are not strangers to opening for touring artists in the region having supported The Orielles as well as BODEGA in the past and don’t expect them not to be playing in even bigger venues in the future.

Swine Tax supporting Sorry at Northumbria Institute – 22/11/2019 – Joseph Jordan

The delivery of the songs was full of passion and really got the crowd on side especially after an excellent performance of 2018’s ‘Tory Water’.

Make sure to catch them if you can, with the band performing at next year’s Hit the North Festival.

Next up were Muck Spreader, who are completely different beast to Swine Tax.

It’s hard to really explain what the band exactly are due to their uniqueness. They’re a mix of indie, ska, jazz, punk and experimental music.

The entire show was one of the most unique I’ve seen, I don’t know if I just need to get out more, there’s so many questions which stem from it.

Muck Spreader supporting Sorry – 22/11/2019 – Joseph Jordan

The lyrics were particularly great with the bizarre delivery really hitting the right tone.

The heavily delayed, reverbed guitars gave the vibe of The Specials with a haunting quality to some of the songs.

It was an experience and one I really enjoyed, shout out to the guitar/trumpet player.

Now onto the main act of the night, the amazing Sorry. The band recently released the brilliant ‘Right Round The Clock’ (which features in my November playlist if you wanna check it out).

The band are definitely ready for the step up to bigger venues when their debut album comes out next year.

With musical intros and various excellent songs this felt like a bigger show which had been shrunk down into a smaller venue.

The show felt stripped down from the songs which have already been released missing the brass parts to songs like ‘Right Around The Clock’ which is understandable of course with it being difficult to bring a brass band on tour.

This stripped down vibe really worked producing a different energy out of the songs which worked well in a live setting.

Sorry perform at Northumbria Institute -22-11-2019 – Joseph Jordan

Sorry also previewed new songs from their new album, all of which sounded great and showed to different sides to this very unique band.

I’ve seen Sorry three times now and I definitely won’t be turning down the opportunity to see them again.

Hit The North 2020 – First Announcement Revealed

18th Nov 2019 — Leave a comment

Australian lad rockers the DMA’s top the bill as the first announcement of the North East music festival, Hit The North was revealed this afternoon.

The band, who are currently supporting Liam Gallagher, will be joined by The Magic Gang as well as indie pop group Fickle Friends amongst the many names announced.

The festival, which is held in Newcastle, is spread across numerous venues in the city centre.

The Blinders performing at the O2 Academy during last year’s festival – photo by Joseph Jordan

Last year’s edition featured major venues such as the O2 Academy and the Riverside as well as smaller, more unique venues such as theCUT and the Mining Institute.

Early bird tickets have already sold out for the event with the next batch of tickets going out on sale this Wednesday.

Previous years have seen the likes of Shame, Pale Waves and Slaves feature with Jake Bugg headlining the 2019 edition.

First announcement details and ticket information is below:

Newcastle based band Stasis announce a single is in the works

13th Nov 2019 — 1 Comment

Local band Stasis have announced that they are currently recording their debut single, ‘Lies’.

Introducing the band

The band revealed that the track is close to completion with just the bass missing from the song.

Stasis supported The Sheds last Monday at Think Tank? in Newcastle, in what proved to be an amazing moment for the band.

‘It was mint’ said drummer Dylan with the rest of the band quick to back him up.

The communal atmosphere of the band is apparent when you meet them and this vibe has translated into the songwriting process for the band as revealed by the band’s singer Tamzin.

‘The melodies are written by Fae and Ben and I write the lyrics,’

‘When Fae writes a song it’s very different to when Ben writes one, they come from different ends of the spectrum,’

‘Fae will write more heavier, grungier songs whereas Ben will write more alternative or indie songs.’

However, the band had originally been recording within Newcastle College, but the group were underwhelmed with the sessions.

Instead they have been camped around guitarist Ben’s ‘little’ mic writing and recording songs using Garage Band which the group seemingly prefer.

The band draw from numerous different influences with each member of the group coming from a different musical backgrounds.

These different approaches have shaped the sound of the band with influences listed from grunge to indie.

Guitarist Fae has cited influences from grunge icons Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins as well as taking inspiration from the shoegaze music of My Bloody Valentine.

This contrasts with bassist Patrick who instead takes inspiration more from Mac Demarco and indie music in general, this creates an interesting mix of songs which keeps the band fresh.

The band wants to be a unique entity which is very much them and no one else.

‘We don’t have a persona or anything like that, we want to be ourselves’ said the band’s singer Tamzin. ‘We all dress differently and we’re a mix of people.’

The Band playing their first ever gig – @thebandstasis

The band met in college with drummer Dylan having the idea to form the band. Ever since then they have been working and creating music.

What the future holds for Stasis they don’t know, but what they do know is that they want to enjoy it as much as they can.

The aim for the future is to simply get as many gigs as possible regardless of the venue with the band just happy to be playing music.

This means recording more songs, which the band have been doing with an EP coming in the future as well as the upcoming single.

This will hopefully lead to more amazing moments for the band live

Make sure to follow Stasis on Instagram here to make sure you don’t miss any future announcements.

HUMBUG NORTH EAST -Spotify Playlist Explained

12th Nov 2019 — 1 Comment

This is something a bit new for the blog but I thought it might be interesting.

I’ve made a playlist of songs that I’m currently listening to, some of which are new and others which are older. They aren’t particularly North East based but there are a few groups from the local area.

They’re not obscure songs which you will have never heard of, but I just wanted to explain why I picked them so here it is. If you like this let me know and I’ll keep it updated every month or so.

Frail State of Mind – The 1975

I guarantee a number of people will just switch off here. I know they’re not a popular band with most people and I can understand that to an extent. I’ve had an up and down relationship with the band over the years.

But once you cut through all the bullshit of rapid fans and on the face of it an arrogant singer (not that it bothers me), they’re undoubtedly one of the best and most interesting bands about at the minute.

It’s not for everyone I get that and this track is not going to sway around the haters, a song which sounds a lot like 2018’s ‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’, one of the poppier moments (if that’s considered a bad thing – personally doesn’t bother me but each to their own) of the band which I know a lot of people dislike.

However, it is still another good song and very catchy, although I’ve got to concede that it’s nowhere near as good as the punky ‘People’ but it’s still mint give it a try.

Psycho – Slowthai featuring Denzel Curry

Rap is not my natural environment to be honest. But I love slowthai, he’s one of the best lyricist I’ve heard in a while and I personally think he was robbed of the Mercury Prize back in September.

I love this song because it’s absolutely full of energy with screeching violins really adding a threatening vibe to the track. I like it a lot even if it’s not the best lyrically.

Something Has to Change – The Japanese House

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t really like The Japanese House before this song, her debut album was average at best and didn’t really prick up my ears (though ‘Saw You in a Dream’ is a tune).

However, this song is incredible it keeps the dream pop elements but really goes to town with the pop element of the track.

The song has been stuck in my head since it was released at the end of September and really can’t wait to see what the full EP has to bring to the table when it is released.

FEET – Chalet 47

I saw FEET on Wednesday night for the third time they were incredible as always (I leave a link to the review because I’m sure you’ll all be dying to read what me someone whose never played a gig thinks) . They have such an incredible collection of fucking mental songs which I can really get on board with.

Their debut came out last month and it’s actually one of the most underrated albums of the year if you haven’t heard it. They definitely should be in bigger venues than Think Tank, with the amazing collection of songs they’ve amassed.

This song is just one of many absolute crease pop anthems which they have in their repertoire and the full album is definitely worth checking out.

Sorry – Right Around The Clock

I really love Sorry, they’re another band which should be bigger than they are. This one is a really clever concept for a song, which is based loosely off of Tears for Fears’ ‘Mad World’ with band building upon the melody to that song and running with it.

I love ‘Mad World’ so naturally I love this one as well. The song is more than just a copy or cover though experimenting with the world’s most catchy saxophones and just having a really cool groove to it.

The song is great and so is their entire back catalogue make sure to catch them at the Northumbria Institute 2 later this month.

RUNT – Hannah

The debut single from a really good local band who I’ve seen twice supporting the equally amazing Primary Colours. The song is great and has a really nice riff which goes through the entire song knitting it together well.

The band have a really good vibe to their songs, which I love so make sure to catch them live if you can.

The Cure – The Exploding Boy – Studio Demo

I’ve chosen pretty recent songs for my first six picks so I thought I’d go back to the eighties with this track from one of my favourite bands of all time.

You might ask why I’ve picked the studio demo over the actual song which appears on the 2004 compilation album ‘Join The Dots‘ and the simple answer to that is I like it more because of it’s grittier, rougher tone.

It’s quite a euphoric song, which is strange for a band who have made their living off the more depressing side of the music spectrum but it’s really good, showing off their range and why they are a legendary group.

oh baby – LCD Soundsystem

I think I found this song when I came in from a night out about a year ago and it’s really grew on me so much. It’s hardly a deep cut from him but it is so good.

The sound of the song is amazing with various synths and keyboards combining into a symphony of brilliance as well as the lyrics being just as good as the rest of the song so that’s why it’s here.

Maps – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

A proper indie classic from the New York based band’s 2003 album ‘Fever to Tell’. It’s another break up song of sorts with the song written for Liars frontman Angus Andrew, who was in a relationship at the time with singer Karen O.

Another interesting fact is that ‘Maps’ stands for ‘My Angus Please Stay’ which I suppose is a nice little detail to bring the mood down.

My auntie introduced me to this one because that’s just how rock and roll I am but I do really love it to be fair. It’s another one which has been stuck in my head for weeks so I’m now passing it on for you to all get it imprinted on your brains as well.

Slaves – One More Day Won’t Hurt

Slaves’ most recent single and probably their most heaviest to date. I love the energy and the lyrics, I think I’m gonna keep this one short like the song because I’m currently two hours deep into this.

Ask Me Anything – The Strokes

This is probably one of the least Strokey songs from the band’s large repertoire. I really love the organ on it which gives the track a really retro vibe. It’s almost certainly one of their most underrated songs.

I don’t really have any story behind why it’s on here other than I love The Strokes so deal with it. (I found this really weird 8 bit version of it on YouTube when embedding the links to the songs which I’m not too sure on to be honest but still have a listen).

Gig Reviews – FEET @ Think Tank?

7th Nov 2019 — 1 Comment

Wednesday night saw FEET bring their debut album to Think Tank? Newcastle.

Last month, the band released their debut album, ‘What’s Inside Is More Than Just Ham’ with the group touring the album on this current run of the country.

FEET in action – @joejordan2000

Having played downstairs at Think Tank? Underground, earlier in the year the Coventry based band made the transition well bringing their lively show to the venue.

The band, whose album garnered a four star review from the NME, played all 10 songs from their debut.

The album is a mixture of post punk and indie with perhaps the most inventive, imaginative lyrics you could possibly wish to hear.

From songs about hot dog filled ballads to anthems revolving around chemicals in cars, the album is crease pop at its finest if you haven’t already checked it out.

The gig lived up to the brilliance of the album, with the bizarreness of the record being perfectally captured in the live show filled with weird dancing and colourful lights.

The band filled the stage, mainly due to the small size of it however they managed to create an intimate feeling with the crowd.

The final three songs, featuring two of their most popular singles ‘Petty Thieving’ and ‘Outer Rim’, sent the crowd wild with mosh pits forming at the front.

As one of indie’s rising stars make sure you go to see FEET if you get the chance before they hit, massive venues you won’t regret it.

Make sure to also check out my exclusive FEET quiz right here.

The Big Gigathon Standings

Heidi Curtis’ Ambitious Plan for World Domination – building a band, headlining festivals and working with Sam Fender

6th Nov 2019 — 1 Comment

Heidi Curtis is ambitious for success and there’s no reason why her aims couldn’t become a reality.

The band after the Sophie and the Giants show – @heidicurtismusic

The singer songwriter has already supported Sophie and the Giants and appeared on Sam Fender’s amazing single, ‘Hypersonic Missiles’.

However, there is no standing still for Newcastle based artist. She has already begun to implement her manifesto for success with her band, who are currently rehearsing and writing with her.

‘My guitarist Josh is a massive Toon fan so I would just like to headline the arena so he could shout a chant and the crowd could shout it back.’

On her Career Ambition

Curtis has highlighted the importance of being prepared for anything and whilst no gigs are currently planned, she understands the need to be prepared for anything which transpire.

‘The past few gigs have been amazing and we’ve got a promoter involved but we know we have to wait for good support slots’

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3aAbq3hJa5/

Her main aim is to build a passionate following, something she is currently well in process of achieving with over a thousand followers on Instagram as well as a growing YouTube community in which she highlights her work.

The singer songwriter is first concentrating on this rather than releasing music. However, she was quick to tease what it will sound like with demos described as if Blondie hit Fleetwood Mac.

The huge range of influences are already demonstrated on her YouTube channel in which she has reinvented popular favourites from acts such as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and New Order, transforming them into her own unique style.

It is this and her sensational singing voice which has led to big things for her so far, supporting Sophie and the Giants at the Northumbria Institute last month.

‘It was a great experience, the whole thing was amazing and to play on a proper stage was great… They were super lovely’

However, this is just the start for Heidi who wishes to go all the way to the summit of music with ambitions to top the bill at Boardmasters as well as to have her own headline tour.

This may well become a reality for her with the excellent acoustic version of ‘AGAIN’ on her Instagram demonstrating her supreme talent for songwriting.

Describing herself as a ‘methodwriter’, Heidi often writes from her own experiences dreaming up melodies whilst painting, molding the impressive lyrics around them.

Her songwriting journey began as a way of trying to work her way into her brother’s inner circle, something which clearly worked with her sibling now managing the singer songwriter.

It is also through this that Heidi has formed a friendship with her brother’s best mate and inspiration Sam Fender.

‘He’s always been massively supportive, he’s like an older brother.’

The North Shields based artist has always helped Heidi, having a huge influence on her music as well as helping her to write her first song.

He also provided a memorable moment for the singer songwriter, with Heidi appearing on the spectacular ‘Hypersonic Missiles’, providing backing vocals on the track.

The singer songwriter also has ambitions to headline Mouth of the Tyne Festival like Fender did earlier in the year.

However, top of the to do list for Heidi Curtis is to eventually headline the Ultita Arena in Newcastle if only to provide a special moment for her guitarist Josh.

‘My guitarist Josh is a massive Toon fan so I would just like to headline the arena so he could shout a chant and the crowd could shout it back.’

With her immense talent there’s no reason why the dream couldn’t become a reality.

Follow Heidi on Instagram here

Subscribe to her amazing YouTube Channel here

Audio Interview with Heidi Curtis