guitarleaves Introducing – Bipolar Sunshine

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Bipolar-SunshineBipolar Sunshine is an upcoming artist from Manchester, although up until 2012 was 1/6 of ska and indie band The Streets. The “bipolar” part of his name derives from his desire to be able to explore all avenues of music without his name restricting him to one style, and the “sunshine” from his like of ending on a happy note. Aside from writing his eclectic combination of records, Adio Marchant (Bipolar Sunshine) has recently finished supporting Rudimental and London Grammar and is soon to embark on his own headline UK tour. You can catch his reggae-inspired and uplifting music across a range of festivals or at a menagerie of venues this Autumn.

Song of the Day – Recover

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418142865445f67ebbb1ae9534bc7496Well if it isn’t good old electronic group Chvrches supplying today’s Song of the Day. Artfully layering simple vocals over synthesised backing tracks, the Scottish trio have had a run of hits on the alternative music chart since their formation in 2011. Hitting festivals this Summer across Europe once they’ve wrapped their American tour, there are many chance for you to see them, along with their Song of the Day “Recover”.

Hottest Upcoming Gigs

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largeWith Summer fast approaching and almost every artist packing their tents to play a host of festivals, now seems a good time to tell you about are best picks for you to go to. Whether you’re on a budget, hungry for he biggest artists or want to relax with a variety of creative people, the choice of festivals has never been better and there is something for everyone out there.

Have a little look at are favourite three:

  • The Eden Festival (12th-15th June) value themselves as “Scotland’s Boutique Festival” and we think they’re spot on: including a cycle-powered reggae tent and a psychedelic temple in a variety of large tents, this festival is the place to go for a cultural flavour and a great time: http://www.edenfestival.co.uk/
  • The Secret Garden Party (24th – 27th July) sports unknown artists and gains its adventure from the crazy art installations floating on the lake and around its Cambridgeshire venue. The dress code this year is “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, though you’re just as likely to see people wearing the theme as you are people wearing nothing at all: http://www.secretgardenparty.com
  • V Festival (16th – 17th August) is perhaps a more mainstream and commercial festival, though its line up this year is the best of all the festivals we feel. After all, festivals are about their music. Showcasing Justin Timberlake to Jess Glynne to Alan Carr, there is something to everyone’s taste in entertainment, and a variety of camping standards are available: http://www.vfestival.com/

Song of the Day – Cucurucu

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p01tbd0nWe are delighted to announce the Song of the Day comes from Nick Mulvey with “Cucurucu”. The song has two possible sources of inspiration – the Italian Theatre “commedia dell’arte” in which Cucurucu is a character, or a play on words of the rooster’s cry. Nevertheless the video has undertones of Asian village life and the lyrics have a strong sense of family and tradition – themes fundamental to Nick Mulvey’s music.

guitarleaves Vintage – Send Me On My Way

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RR-Scan-15“Send Me On My Way” is the symbol of all films 90s – namely Matilda. Originally released in 1992 by Rusted Root it was re-recorded later in better quality for the film soundtrack and the band’s second relaxed studio album “When I Woke”. The epitome of vintage Summers: grab a woven poncho and climb the nearest mountain, and enjoy the hippie sounds of the tune.

Song of the Day – Gooey

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2013GlassAnimals_Pr180613Glass Animals are a very exciting band. Consisting of Dave, Drew, Edmund and Joe they produce psychedelic, alternative music in a blanket-adorned studio they call “The Shed”. I have so much admiration for this band – mainly because they are so out there and eccentric. Prior to Glass Animals, the band identified themselves as “Alligator Puffin Chicken Go Yeh Woo” and when asked to summarise their music in three words, they responded with “occult bunny lagoon”. The lead singer of the group studied neuroscience and as such was familiar with the psychiatric ward – something I’m sure the unicorn-loving band took as inspiration. Take a listen to “Gooey”, and if you like it be sure to pre-order their upcoming debut album “Zaba” – I certainly have!

guitarleaves Unearthing – Emeli Sandé

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EmeliSande-New_608x376I realise that Emeli Sande is not an artist who can be unearthed a great deal, being a seven times platinum singer/songwriter, although Emeli has a few tunes that emerge from before her fame – the tunes which are giving her a feature on guitarleaves Unearthing. For those that don’t know, Emeli Sande (you don’t know just how much the fact I can’t place an accent on the last ‘e’ is annoying me) is my musical icon. She earned her credit and respect in the industry by working tirelessly and writing music so passionate it is relatable to all: not by dancing around a stage hidden in auto-tune sporting crazy outfits. She is also incredible live – what I consider the test of a great musician. The song giving her this blog post is “Kill the Boy”, written before her music was internationally recognised and as such isn’t on her album. It’s beautifully jazzy – more obviously so than her usual songs – and blends harmonies with blues instruments and drums alongside strings.

Artist of the Week – Hozier

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If you remember, we met Hozier a little while ago when “From Eden” was the Song of the Day. Your votes are in, and with great pleasure guitarleaves can announce Andrew Hozier-Byrne is our next Artist of the Week. I’ve been speaking to his press manager, who informs me he is currently very busy in the US of A. Hozier is so passionate about music – a trait we really respect – so much so that he dropped out of his degree on Trinity College Dublin in order to record demos for his label. His first single, “Take Me To Church” reached number 2 on the Irish charts, and focuses on homophobia – something Hozier describes as not a “civil rights issue” but a “human rights issue” and makes a statement against organised attacks on LGBT youth internationally. The immense power of this song comes from the heartfelt and powerful lyrics, which are what earns this man the title of Artist of the Week.

Song of the Day – Into The Night

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946403_417837391651556_1678839403_n“Into The Night” is a song by the up and coming four-piece MDNGHT – clearly a pun on ‘midnight’, but pronunciation-wise isn’t the clearest (we opt for the classic sound of jajdhfgaef when we refer to them in conversation). Thankfully, the lead single of their debut EP (also called “Into The Night”) has an easier name and gains its grace through a subtle combination of house beats and falsetto vocals. Feeling fresh and compelling simultaneously, “Into The Night” is a record you will be singing a lot.

Artist of the Week – Commencing 29/05/2014

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Tumblr-Background-Wallpapers-1920x1080The nominations for the next Artist of the Week are taken from guitarleaves’ favourite four of the last week’s Song of the Day. It is then up to you guys to vote for your favourite. The winner will become the Artist of the Week and have one of their tracks published as the upcoming Monday’s Song of the Day. They also get a nice little header under the blog title. The winner will be contacted and hopefully write something for guitarleaves if they’re not too busy. Artist of the Week winners are published every Thursday with a feature on them.Voting ends the night before at midnight. Enjoy!

The nominations for next week’s Artist of the Week and the songs which put them on the shortlist are:

  • FINK – Looking Too Closely
  • THE ART OF SLEEPING – Colourblind
  • JESS GLYNNE – Home
  • BEACH HOUSE – Norway