Two years ago Welsh singer-songwriter Jay James Picton was a fitness instructor in the Royal Navy who bought a guitar as a joke. Through a devastating injury, Picton started learning the guitar and from there onwards his beer driven joke turned into a passion, leading him to work with music greats such as Booker T. Jones, John Legend and Malay; who have add their touches to Jay James Picton's debut album, Play It By Heart.
Music runs through Elle Varner’s veins. The daughter of parents who both were songwriters and publishers, the singer-to-be attended music programs and academies for the majority of her academic life and eventually graduated from NYU’s renowned Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music -- she was even voted "most likely to get signed" and "most likely to win a Grammy" at the ceremony. In October 2009, she signed with MBK/J-RCA Records and inked a co-publishing agreement with Sony Music.
Now, with the release of her debut album Perfectly Imperfect, I strongly believe Varner is on the path of actually winning a Grammy.
After years of working her way up through the UK's underground music scene, building her reputation via high-profile collaborations with the likes of Wiley, Chipmunk, Tinie Tempah, Professor Green and Devlin, Glaswegian singer-songwriter Emeli Sande finally released her massively anticipated debut album Our Version of Events.
The debut album from UK sensation Rox Tataei truly lives up to its name. This is indeed a warts-and-all exposé of her romantic history so far. From regret over the one that got away (‘Heart Ran Dry’) to recounting the unhinged antics of her current beau’s ex-girlfriend- a menace to the happiness of her relationship (hidden track ‘Gallais’), Rox does not hold back.
Such honesty can provoke one of two reactions from the listener-either it isolates us because it’s all a little too personal or it endears us to the artist, as if we’re being let into their confidence. In this instance it’s a case of the latter, thanks to Rox’ lovely alchemy of memorable melodies and well-crafted lyrics.
“How do I look, how do I look?” jokes Joe, strolling into the room at Kedar Entertainment's New York offices, suited in an eye-catching bright red dinner jacket and swirling a glass of ‘adult apple juice’. We’re here to talk about his most recent release, Signature; the R&B singer’s second independent album following his prior six studio albums released on Jive Records.