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Last night I got the chance to catch Aussie soul singer Danieal Merriweather during his multi-city tour in support of his debut album Love and War. I have already made my feelings known on the album, and I was eager to see what it would sound like live.
Before I get into a review of the show I just want to mention Daniel's support act, London based singer Rox. I was semi-familiar with her work through her myspace page, and have been keeping up to date with the progress on her upcoming debut, so when it was announced she was supporting I was more than a little excited. I arrived just as Rox was finishing up her opening song and the buzz in the crowd suggested she had done well. She then went into the song I'm most familiar with, 'Page Unfolds'. To say she killed it would be an understatement! The crowd were young, and so I expected them to not pay much attention to the non-headline acts (that seems to be what usually happens), however she had their full attention. She also sang 'I Don't Believe', the fantastic 'Rock Steady' which would have been THE perfect summer soundtrack, and finally 'Breakfast In Bed' which really had her belting it out. It's safe to say that she gained herself a fair few fans in Birmingham!
When Daniel took to the stage the crowd went wild, and it was obvious that he has become
To borrow a very '90s Americanism, Liam Bailey keeps it real. The words ‘truthfully’ and ‘honest’ surface frequently during his SoulCulture interview and no-one could accuse Liam of being anything else. There’s something so refreshingly unguarded and guileless about him it’s impossible not to feel completely at ease in his company; that and his wicked sense of humour.
We’re sat upstairs in one of Camden’s celebrated drinking holes and Liam waxes lyrical about holey trousers and the monotony of Dance music since the late 1990s. Just as he settles down to answer some questions he spontaneously bursts into a rendition of Michael Jackson and Patti Austen’s ‘It’s the Falling In Love’. Heck, I can’t resist the urge to join him.
Born and raised in Nottingham, Bailey hails from a family of ‘music appreciators’ as he puts it. His own musical journey started during the '90s Britpop explosion and a life-long fascination with the band Oasis began. It was Noel Gallagher that inspired Liam to pick up the guitar.
Thursday night at Dingwall’s in Camden saw soulstress 
Roxanne Tataei’s musical journey began in church, encouraged by the choirmaster (“He’d make me go at the forefront [to sing] every week and I’d be shaking… It was the best thing that he could have done”). Primary school performances soon led to tours around England with the National Youth Music Theatre, which she describes as a “grounding” experience, before putting it all to the side in favour of writing her own music and experimenting with sounds.
Following an extended trip to Mexico she formed an acoustic jazz trio and gigged around London, which brought the A&Rs her way. Then last year, in stepped Rough Trade records and ROX's solo quest began.