THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

I confess to being a little bit apprehensive. I don’t know if it’s the purple hair or the in-your-face Alpha Girl image that Venus XTC portrays, but either way I’ve no idea how this one might play out. Having one or two stock questions to use as crutches though – it helps. And when I dive in with the usual what-inspired-you line, I’m relieved to be met with enthusiasm and… Continue Reading Venus XTC

There are no easy breaks in the music business. Competition is fierce, not to mention, now more than ever before, prolific. The ladder to the top is lofty and many-runged and, if you can stomach another metaphor, slippery. But if you’re an aspiring musician you probably already know this. Actually you’ve probably thought about giving up on more than one occasion. The only advice I can give you is: don’t.… Continue Reading Gabe Lopez Part 2

Crystal Waters. A mellifluous expression, it sounds as much like a meditation technique as a name, but a name it is, and a genuine name at that. Born in Philadelphia to Betty and Junior Waters, Crystal was blessed with a name that truly rolls off the tongue. Still, if it sounds like an idyllic realm (there is actually a Crystal Waters Ranch in British Columbia and a Crystal Waters Fishery in… Continue Reading Crystal Waters

To understand Meresha is to understand Meresha’s music. Let me qualify that. I started knocking up a few questions which I thought might elicit the appropriate insight into this eclectic singer’s world, then hit delete and don’t save changes thank you very much, after tapping out the first two. And then I stuck some headphones on and listened to her song, My Love Has Come.   Here’s the thing: before… Continue Reading Meresha

  I’ve spoken to one or two musicians in my time, but Robert Van-Liew is the first DJ and come to think of it, the first from a hip-hop background. I’ve enjoyed the company of a few country and western guests, a star of West End stage productions and an advocate of the fabled French Chanteuse, but never a rap artist. So perhaps it seems strange that I’ve found a sudden… Continue Reading DJ DX

Graham Norton beat me to it. Yes yes, I know my place. And anyway, never one to get ahead of myself I’m choosing to view that as a signpost to success and not (honestly, truly – keep saying it) something to be envious of. Actually, I’d had in mind a feature with vocal harmony group Blake for some time. There was the collaboration with Dame Shirley Bassey and their contention for… Continue Reading Blake

Fast Facts: Pursuit: Country Singer/Songwriter Definition of success: “If the music I’m making is encouraging, inspiring, comforting or healing someone, I’ve succeeded.”     Figuratively speaking I seem to be spending quite a bit of time in Nashville of late. Not literally – in reality I’ve only visited once and that was as a teenager almost twenty years ago – but I’ve hosted country-pop singer/songwriter Alayna (twice!) who resides in that mecca of… Continue Reading Jenn Bostic

Fast Facts: Pursuit: Country-Pop Singer/Songwriter Definition of success: The late Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” “They’re not even so much “fans” to me, but more friends,” Alayna replies when I ask what she attributes her phenomenal social media popularity to.  This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of talking to the country-pop singer/songwriter from Nashville. Last year I featured her as… Continue Reading Alayna: Part 2

Fast Facts: Pursuit: Singer, songwriter, producer Definition of success: “Finding happiness in what you do.” There are two things I can tell you about listening to the music of today’s guest. One: you should, and two: you probably already have. He’s co-written and produced work with the likes of Belinda Carlisle and New Kids On The Block, and toured with the former on her UK tour last year. He’s worked with Brent… Continue Reading Gabe Lopez