Scott Quinn is a Yorkshire-born, soul-synth multi-instrumentalist, whose latest track is captivatingly beautiful with its shimmering synths and passionate vocals.
‘Run’ oozes heartache and despair, tackling the emotionally-driven subject of trying to help and support someone who’s not in the right place to be helped but is already on the path of self-destruction, leaving a trail of demolition in their wake.
Quinn has spent time in the studio, working with the likes of JONES & SG Lewis and has recently toured Europe with Aquilo. All this comes ahead his first, big, headline show at the Camden Assembly on June 20th (tickets available here).
No music video has been released as yet, but as always, we’ll keep you updated if/when one emerges.
What are your thoughts of this intriguing singer-songwriter’s latest single? Do you have a #MellowMonday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
We felt it was time to create the ultimate chillout playlist, combining as many different genres as possible into one, super-relaxing, easy-listening place. This playlist has been lovingly crafted to include a variety of chilled songs we love as well as suggestions from you guys!
If you already own the songs and want the custom artwork, please feel free to copy/download the artwork below:
Cassettemix + Chill Playlist
This genre-spanning playlist includes the following chilled-out tracks:
Justin Bieber – I’ll Show You
Chris Malinchak – So Good To Me
DJ Snake – Let Me Love You featuring Justin Bieber (Andrew Watt Acoustic Remix)
Aquilo – Sorry
Years & Years – Eyes Shut
The 1975 – Paris
The Japanese House – Swim Against The Tide
MUNA – So Special
Zara Larsson – Lush Life (Acoustic Version)
The Beach – Geronimo (Acoustic Version)
Years & Years – Without
George Ezra – Budapest
Amy Winehouse – Tears Dry (Original Version)
Simply Red – Holding Back The Years
Timeflies – Stuck With Me
John Mayer – Who You Love featuring Katy Perry
One Direction – Perfect (Matoma Remix)
X Ambassadors – Renegades
Sons Of Maria – You & I
Ella Eyre – We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off
Alex Parks – Out Of Touch
You+Me – Break The Cycle
Freshlyground – I’d Like
George Michael – Jesus To A Child
Chicane – Poppiholla (5am Mix)
Sia – Elastic Heart (Piano Version)
Miley Cyrus – Adore You
TIEKS – Sunshine featuring Dan Harkna (Acoustic Version)
Echosmith – Cool Kids (Acoustic)
Ben Haenow – Second Hand Heart featuring Kelly Clarkson (Acoustic)
It’s a new year and we’re kicking off 2017 with this stunning track by UK duo, Aquilo.
The pair are currently gearing up for the release of their debut album, Silhouettes, on January 27th 2017 and judging by all of their releases so far, it promises to be incredible. They’ve been crafting their sound and songwriting skills for quite some time, so I’m expecting this to be a monster of an album!
What do you think of this latest track? Are you as excited for their album as we are? Leave your thoughts in a comment below or via our social media accounts.
Oh, and Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hope 2017 is an AWESOME year!
Having recently seen Aquilo perform in Brighton recently (check out our review), I was captivated by one of their most recent singles, ‘You Won’t Know Where You Stand’.
The Lancashire duo (consisting of Ben Fletcher and Tom Higham) have been working tirelessly on writing, recording and touring, all the while, perfecting their blend of electronica and pop songwriting.
This particular track has a dreamy quality to it; perfect for a #MellowMonday song. No official video has been released yet, but as always, we’ll keep you updated.
What are your thoughts of Aquilo? What’s your favourite track by them? Please share your thoughts or own #MellowMonday choices in a comment below, or via our social media. Also, why not follow our #MellowMonday playlist – https://open.spotify.com/user/muzik5peaks/playlist/0ITJhPZVNklCiwpBetvKPG
On Saturday 22nd October 2016, I was lucky enough to see Aquilo performing live at Patterns in Brighton, with support from Meadowlark. The event was brilliant and both acts were fantastic. If you haven’t seen either act live; I strongly recommend it!
Meadowlark
Having only recently heard of Meadowlark and done an interview with the band (which you can read here), I was excited to catch their live performance!
The pair were thrilling to behold – their songs are well crafted, the production was perfection and their performance was flawless. I imagine that a long time has been spent writing, recording and rehearsing and this shows, since their performance was remarkable.
I found myself enjoying every song they played; even the ones I didn’t know and from a support act, this is rare.
I strongly recommend watching them live and listening to their music online…they’re ace!
Highlight:
Fantastic use of synths, pads and vocal harmonies.
Captivating songwriting and big energy from both members.
Aquilo were stunning! Their performance was captivating, full-on and brimming with high energy and placid moments, all in the right places – it was thoroughly enjoyable.
The band’s songs are such a powerful soundscape that the whole performance was like a journey, a story, it was almost a shame when the band spoke between songs. That being said, some of their anecdotes were witty and you could tell that they truly appreciated the audience being there to see them.
The pair confirmed that they have completed the work on their album and that it will be coming sometime at the beginning of next year, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for this.
Highlights:
The vast soundscape created by the band.
The couple of songs performed without the backing band – especially their song, ‘Sorry’ – this showed their raw talents off well and their songs were filled with power and emotion.
The beautifully intricate harmonies created by both of their voices together.
Stunning songs and brilliant songwriting shown off in a fantastic live setting.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Setlist
Calling Me
I Don’t Want To See It
Never Seen You Get So Low
Human
You There
I Gave It All
Losing You
Waiting
Sorry
You Won’t Know Where You Stand
Good Girl*
Better Off Without You
Encore Silhouette
* This song can be viewed on our YouTube, below.
Finally, I want to say an absolutely HUGE thanks to Phil from Sonic PR for organising this show and to Meadowlark and Aquilo for their epic performances!
We recently had the opportunity to catch up with mellow, electro-pop duo, Meadowlark, ahead of their performance at Patterns in Brighton, in support of Aquilo. Dan (one half of the duo) told us about their upcoming album, his most embarrassing moment and what the pair do when writing and recording. Check out what he had to say…
1. How’s it all going with your music? Is there an album in the pipeline at the moment?
It’s going great thanks! We do indeed have an album in the pipeline, we don’t have a release date yet but rest assured it will be with you all in the new year!
2. What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you, either through your music career, or in life?
I (Dan) head butted a pile of dog poo when I was a kid in front of a bunch of friends… that was a dark evening.
3. What really grinds your gears?
Music venues with no parking!
4. Is there anything other than music you’re really passionate about? What do you get up to in your spare time?
I (Dan) direct music videos in my spare time and make short films of all the trips I do to various places in and out of the UK.
5. What music have you been listening to most recently? Have you got a favourite song right now?
I’m not going to lie, every morning I’ve woken up on this tour I’ve heard ‘About You Now’ by Sugababes blaring out of Kate’s bedroom… on repeat!
6. Has anything really scary ever happened to you on tour? If so, what?
In Newcastle a drunk guy tried to invite himself into Kate’s room in a hotel whilst we were trying to load our gear in. It almost got violent, definitely not what we wanted at 2am!
7. Have you got any disgusting habits?
It’s not a disgusting habit per-say but I snore a lot which makes me very unpopular on tour.
8. What is your usual process for writing and recording? And where do you take your inspirations for songs from?
We wrote most of the last album at a beautifully secluded barn near Doncaster. It’s in the middle of nowhere, no signal, no distractions. We wrote and demoed the songs to the best of our ability, getting across all the important elements so that when we took the songs to a producer they would be a blank enough canvas to start carving from but had enough in them to get across their intended pace and genre.
9. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Never compare yourself to others.
10. Would you rather live in a Disney or Looney Tunes universe and why?
I think I speak for the both of us when I say DISNEY!
Shawn Mendes burst onto the pop scene with his incredibly catchy song, ‘Stitches‘, which went straight to Number 1 in the UK.
Since then (which was only a few months ago), he has had a couple of other single releases and an album, but now he is gearing up for a follow-up album, led by brand new single, ‘Treat You Better’.
Still capturing his trademark acoustic sound, the guitar has almost been used like a synth to hook the listener in. This pop song is everything you want it to be, and more.
LewRey are a genre-blending electro-pop duo consisting of Lewis Reynold and Ian Walker. The pair are incredible at marrying soul-pop melodies with club-like anthemic choruses alongside indie vibes, creating one heck of a unique sound.
Having already supported the likes of Pendulum, Example, Professor Green, The Japanese House and Aquilo, their latest song, ‘Never’, looks set to help them soar to even higher heights. It’s honestly, a brilliant song!
What do you think of these two awesome new tracks? What would your #Two4Tunesday song choices be? Get in touch in a comment below or via our social media accounts.
Muzik Speaks is 1 year old this week and to celebrate this milestone, we’re giving you a themed playlist, for each day this week. The playlist will contain all of the songs we’ve featured on our blog during the past year, all themed around the corresponding day.
Today, it’s #Two4Tunesday and our playlist includes:
Chicane shared our post and we’ve been lining up some interviews for November – it’s been an amazing month and I can’t wait for November to start!
We hope you have enjoyed our song choices throughout October and you can find the Spotify and YouTube playlists below!
Please keep sharing our posts and sharing songs with us!
OUR CONTINUED AIM
We’d like to ask you, to go ahead and ‘like’ our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/muzikspeaks) and ‘follow’ us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/muzik_speaks). Then if you could please post a status or send a tweet to your followers and friends to ask them to check us out, we’d be really grateful! We want to grow this community and we honestly can’t do it without your support!
Lastly, please, please respond to our posts on Facebook or leave comments on each of our blog posts with your own tracks for each of the daily themes – we want you to share what you’re listening to because we love music as much as you, and we really enjoy finding out about new tunes. Thanks so much!
Melissa Steel had her first success with debut single, ‘Kisses For Breakfast’, back in 2014 but she has just released her follow-up track, ‘You Love Me?’, featuring Wretch 32. I think what sets Melissa Steel apart from so many others, is her slightly reggae edge and refreshing take on R&B/Pop music. She has an urban quality to her sound and her vocals are uniquely captivating.
The song is produced by none other than Darkchild and the cute sample vocals are very memorable – a strong follow-up single, I must say! Well done Ms. Steel!
Aquilo are an Indie/Electro-Pop duo from Lancashire, consisting of Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher.
The pair have released 3 EPs to date, but this song (‘Good Girl’) marks their first proper single release, hinting at an album to come!
The video for the song is like an independent film and suits the song perfectly. The chorus is entrancing with its high-pitched, rapid lyrics and the electronic elements are hypnotic – I can imagine the band doing something amazing with this, when performing it live.
I am a fan of this duo and am very excited to hear what they offer us next.
And so ends this week’s #Two4Tunesday but would you have chosen a different set of songs? Please leave your choices in a comment below or on our Facebook/Twitter.
Muzik Speaks 