Month in Music: October
MUSIC
In the words of Adele ‘ Hello!’. We have had an extremely busy month and we can’t quite believe it’s only 7 weeks until Christmas! Come and explore our month of goodies, including our latest artist interviews, live coverage on major events & lots more.
In Production:
We had the launch of our production team Smooth Operation’s collaboration with the V&A Museum of Childhood featuring; ‘The Ballads of Child Migration: Songs for Britain’s Child Migrants’
This was a specially commissioned collection of fourteen songs by leading British folk musicians, which visitors can listen to at certain points in the exhibition and is available to buy online and as a CD. Following this project, the songs will be performed at the Celtic Connections Festival in January 2016.
In other news, Scott and Martin from ‘British Sea Power’ came into 6music. They have just released a gorgeous new record called ‘Sea of Brass’. It has adaptations of their back catalogue, with a 28 -piece brass band. Check it out!
Entertainment Team
Our entertainment team packed their bags and headed off to Milan, for the MTV European Music Awards. They created a staggering 241 pieces of content to over 140 radio partners within the UK and internationally. The team worked through the night and had an amazing social reception, so much so, that Duran Duran Retweeted one of their posts! Have a look at some of their work here ->https://audioboom.com/channel/mtvemas
They also attended the Q awards where they had a chance to talk to Gary Numan, who was presented with the Q ‘Innovation in Sound’ award by last year’s winner, Jean Michel Jarre. Again the team were busy interviewing the likes of Sex Pistols, Glen Matlock, Jazzy B, Noel Gallagher, Tom Jones, James Bay, Charli XCX, Duran Duran and many more.
The team also attended the Amy Winehouse Foundation Ball, where Mark Ronson was made a patron. As well as talking to him and the Winehouse family, they also caught up with Ella Henderson, Queen’s Roger Taylor and Foxes.
Carla Battisti, one of our top music journalists points out interview highlights this month included, Ed Sheeran speaking about the release of his world premier film, Jumpers for Goal post, a chat withThe Supremes’ Mary Wilson, British band Editors, former Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst and Chris Rea.
On the 7digital music store:
I am sure you were just as excited as we were to finally have Adele return with her smash record ‘Hello’. You can pre-order on our site now.
Even though the foggy weather arrived, the music team made sure that we still had our festival and events guide to look forward too for optimal music browsing! Some of their picks include ‘The Warehouse Project’. With a capacity of 5,000, The Warehouse Project has become the hub of the electronic music scene in Manchester. With so much demand, they already booked 300 artists for the next four months including Katy B, Zomby and Daphni. If you need some persuasion, have a listen to some of our top picks! A festival that has been recommended by our team is ‘Simple Things’, returning to the West Country for a weekend of cutting-edge live and electronic music in Bristol.
The Mercury Prize is probably the UK’s most coveted musical accolade, honouring the best British album of the previous twelve months. The shortlist was announced this month in conjunction with BBC Music. We’ve put together a dedicated page to show the shortlist. Have a look at who’s in the running and have a listen to some newbies.
Our Music Editor, Gemma Samways, has been hard at work. This month she also interviewed Editors, as well as John Newman and Alex Giannascoli, to name a few. Editors discussed their new approach to the upcoming fifth album, following the departure of guitarist, Chris Urbanowicz. Read the interview to get an in-depth insight into the brand’s creative process for ‘In Dream’. Soul singer, perfectionist and confessed workaholic, John Newman had a rollercoaster of a year touring with Taylor Swift & Calvin Harris. Working on his second album with legend Jerry Hey & Michael Jackson’s musicians, defined the way he shaped his even more successful second album. Catching up with budding 22 year old, Philadelphia-based, DIY artist Alex Giannascoli was a treat. He is releasing his 7th album so we spoke with him to hear more about his musical background and the story behind the brilliant ‘Beach Music.’
What a great month for music at 7digital. Busy times and exciting new releases are setting people up for the madness of Christmas shopping around the corner. Stay tuned for more news about our work with music editorial, coverage and creative.