A songwriter for the likes of Tinie Tempah, Sasha Keable and even JLS, the multi-talented J Warner is ready to embark on further solo material, and has unveiled the first track from his forthcoming EP ‘Est. 1990’. Warner’s newest offering ’Chill Chase’ speaks volumes of musical talent, with the wordsmith professing an undeniable talent for lyricism. Warner combines the honest lyrics with hypnotic wailing sounds, and a relentless and intoxicating chorus. A dominant, yet dull rhythmic beat also lends itself perfectly to the audio. We sat down with the gent himself to find out what tracks by other artists, he wishes he had penned.

1. Knox Brown – “Harry’s Code”

“I love the feel of this song. It’s just totally organic and it sounds like a classic! That’s a very rare feeling in music today, and a very tough thing to do.There’s a timeless element to the song, that I think most writers hope to achieve at least once in their career”.

2. Childish Gambino – “Sober”

“This is a really cool concept! He took the idea of not being ”sober” and flipped it, throwing it back to the years of popular funk and yet adding a twist that brings it into the present”.

3. Michael Jackson – “They Don’t Care About Us”

“What can I say, it’s Michael Jackson! ‘They don’t care about us’ is timeless, massively epic and a song that will live forever. There’s just a very honest, feel good vibe”

4. Coldplay – “Magic”

“I really respect the writing style and technique, something like this needs a ‘less is more’ approach on the beat. A simple but effective melody”.

5. James Blake – “Retrograde”

“I love everything about this song, the production is left! It kind of doesn’t even make sense, a real phenomenal piece”.

J Warner’s ‘Chill Chase‘ feat. Wretch 32 is the first track taken from the forthcoming EP ‘Est.1990’

The post J Warner’s ‘5 Song’s I Wish I’d Written’ appeared first on Wonderland.

1. Amsterdam.
“Quick bike-ride before we soundchecked”

2. Amsterdam.
“Tour bus melodica entertainment from Nikolaij” 

3. Frankfurt
“Soundcheck and load-in with an all-female, German crew” 

4. Berlin
“Day off. Our first beer and a proper meal”

5. Berlin
“The Berlin Wall”

6. Berlin
“Berlin art”

7. Berlin
“Flux FM wall art”

8. Hamburg
“Skate park art which was located right outside our gig venue”

9. Hamburg
“A cool old-skool cigarette machine”

10. Paris
“We finally arrive in Paris. Beautiful city”

11. Paris
“View to a kill. Henrik’s little moment sits perfectly on top of his micro-synth”

Grant Nicholas’s ‘Black Clouds‘ mini-album is officially released on April 6th.

The post PICTURE DIARY: Grant Nicholas appeared first on Wonderland.

When I’m home from tour I like to host little party’s in my basement with my closest friends, these are the songs that get regular rotation.

The 1975- ‘Robbers ‘

“I love how Matt Healy’s voice sounds, especially in the second half of this song when it go’s higher. I’m a big fan of the 1975’s sound as a whole”

Alicia Keys- ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’

“This is my personal drunk anthem. It’s a song I didn’t think I would be into when I initially heard it but turned into a favourite after a couple of listens. Everything about this song is beautiful and subtly empowering”.

Pink Floyd- ‘Wish You Were Here’

“Classic. This plays right towards the end of the night, right before Dominoes gets ordered. Usually everyone drops what they’re doing and it becomes a big emotional sing song”.

Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

“If ‘Wish You Were Here’ isn’t played, this definitely will be”.

Mr C The Slide Man – ‘The Cha Cha Slide’ 

“I have no idea who wrote or performs the Cha Cha Slide but it is a well good party tune. I’ve a friend who grabs the mic when this song comes on and become a fitness instructor as she shouts the dance instructions. I still don’t know how to ‘charlie Brown’ mind you”.

The Blue Nile- ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’

“I don’t think my friends like this song much at all but it makes me unbelievably happy so I don’t care”.

Biffy Clyro – ‘Black Chandelier’

“One time, one of my usually pretty quiet friends was really drunk and this song came on. When the three drum hits in the chorus happen he started slapping the table in time so hard that the entire room went quiet and watched as he tried to get his hands through the table”.

Underworld- ‘Born Slippy’

“This song turns into an exercise somewhere half way through. Never really knowing what the lyrics say in the other half helps because when you sing it all slobbery theres not that much difference. This is probably the only song I ‘fist pump’ to”. 

Tenacious D – ‘BeezleBozz ‘

Big air guitar happening also singing in a duet-ish way. This isn’t really that metal of a song but I have a lot of metal head mates that lose their shit when this comes on. 

Pearl Jam- ‘Even Flow’

“Because Pearl Jam..”

Check out the new single ‘Sea Creatures’, taken from the forthcoming album ‘Before We Forgot How To Dream’ – Release June 1st.

Words: Shane Hawkins.

The post PLAYLIST: Soak appeared first on Wonderland.

It’s safe to say we were more than excited to hear that Ady Suleiman would be playing alongside our previous New Noise star, Leon Bridges last week at London’s Old Blue Last. We were even more thrilled to be invited down to the show to hang out with Ady before showtime.

We’ve been championing the young singer / songwriter, originally from Grantham, since we heard the smooth sounds of his track ‘Longing For Your Love’. His laid-back and mature approach to his craft is proof that we can expect colossal things from this gent over the next 12 months. We managed to sit Ady down before he went on-stage to a full room, to grab some quick-fire questions. Enjoy.

Give us an insight into your journey – what was your route into the music industry?

I guess my route into music industry was really doing gigs around Nottingham and Liverpool, and from putting stuff up online. I would put demos up on Soundcloud, and upload videos to Youtube. I think the first thing I put up was in 2013, when I put a few acoustic demos on Soundcloud. At this time I was also playing shows, so I think with the combination of these three things and being active I was able to create a tiny bit of buzz around me, which then a few industry people picked up on.

How do you think that a city like Nottingham has shaped you as a creative?

I actually studied music in Liverpool and did a lot of my development and played some of my first shows there, but when I went to play shows back in Nottingham, maybe because It was my hometown, I got a lot more support from the local media and generally a better reaction there and culturally it was the right fit with my music. When I was coming through there was this incredible soul / hip-hop scene in Nottingham. You had artists like Liam Bailey, Harleighblu, Natalie Duncan, Indiana and of course Jake Bugg had just broken at this point so felt like there was a real buzz around the city.

The city has a fantastic buzz for music – do you have any vivid memories of playing any of the prestigious venues around the city?

The best one for me was when I played Dot to Dot in 2013. I played a venue called Rock City, which is a historic venue in Notts with a large capacity. I’m not a particularly well known artist, and I remember thinking at the time why have they put me on this this stage for the festival, it was an ambitious choice. I remember walking out 5 minutes before I went on and the room was empty. A lot of my family and friends were coming to see me play and I was like – I’m going to be performing to an empty room. Then when I walked out for my set suddenly the place was packed. I couldn’t believe it, I had no idea where everyone came from but it felt amazing. That was a real moment.

What were you listening to as you were growing up – what shaped you, musically?

I listened to a broad range of music growing up, my parents are into good music and my dad is a DJ. When I was really young he would play a lot of African music around the house but I started taking a strong interest in music because of the electric guitar. I played guitar way before i started singing, and I got into really into Jimi Hendrix. He was defiantly the dude for me! The key, the door opener I would say… he trained my ears to appreciate and listen to a wide variety of music. I really got into that 60’s era, then Blues and Jazz, and later on in life came Hip-Hop, Soul, R&B and Reggae. If we are talking purely vocals, I have to give it to Amy Winehouse. She was definitely my strongest vocal inspiration, to see someone break the mainstream having a heavy jazz influence in her voice and music was dope and made me believe that perusing a career in music with the music I wanted to make was possible.

You seem to have collected a bundle of celebrity fans – who would you love to collaborate with on a track?

It would be dope to do something with Kendrick Lamar and Erykah Badu but if I had to choose one it’s got be Stevie Wonder.  From a UK perspective I’m really feeling King Krule, George the Poet and Loyle Carner. I image they would be fun to work with.

If you could have written any other song by another artist, which would would you liked to have claimed?

There’s to many but of the top of my head “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” by D’angelo. Or Pink Floyd’s “Money” and / or ‘Time” would love to have written the whole “Dark Side of the Moon” album to be fair.

Give us an insight into your creative process – how do you begin writing a song? Does it start with a melody or lyrics?

Always music first and lyrics last. I come up with a melody I think is strong or a chord progression, then I think how does this music make me feel and think about the emotion, then I try connect that emotion to a story in my life or topic a feel strongly about and that’s when I start to write lyrics. Then a song starts to form yu just have to try finish it while the ideas are fresh.

You seem effortlessly stylish – how important do you think image is to an emerging artists longevity / career?

Fashion and music go hand in hand, I think for me honestly I just wear what’s comfortable. I can’t stand tight clothes that stick to me so baggy stuff works for me. I would say I’m a casual guy. Obviously if I’m heading for a night out I  will make more of an effort, but I wouldn’t say I’m to obsessive over image.

Tell us more about your new track ‘So Lost’?

I believe it has a relatable message within the track, and it almost touches on stuff that people don’t openly talk about with one another that they feel anxious or awkward about discussing. It really touches on how I feel and how I imagine a lot of people in my generation feel, though they may not choose to admit it. It’s quite indulgent song when you listen to it. It actually touches on mental health issues, anxiety and depression and I think there is a lot of chatter around these subjects at the moment. It’s something I feel very strongly about so will definitely touch upon it in my music moving forward.

And the forthcoming EP? How is that shaping up, and what can we expect from it?

The EP is all done now. I would say it’s a positive progression from what people have heard before, I’ve added other instruments and arrangements so people might be surprised if they thought I was just an acoustic artist. I had always planned on having more live instruments in my music just couldn’t afford to at the time ha! I’ve always wanted to adapt and grow the sound, and I would say the E.P Is the next stepping-stone and progression for where I’m going to go eventually. I am working on the album now and that’s another step ahead

Ady’s forthcoming EP will be released on Pemba Records in May.
Connect with Ady here.

Words: Shane Hawkins
Images: Christopher McCrory

The post BEHIND THE SCENES WITH…. ADY SULEIMAN appeared first on Wonderland.

Josh Christopher and Melis Soyaslonova have been making electro-tinged, melodic pop for a few years now, and next months will see them release their corker of a new single ‘Glow’.
We caught up with the duo to find out who else they think will be making colossal waves throughout the industry in 2015, as well as nabbing an exclusive playlist of their most favourite songs. enjoy.

1) J Tropic –

“This year, J Tropic will be the one to watch in the production world come Summertime. Enjoyed working on the demo of Who U R with him before he transferred it to a super-hit with Alyss. His infectious summer-time melodies and sex music vibes are all on spec for this August; Hearing within the industry that many good things are happening for this dude at the moment… watch this space”.

2) Deaths –

“Deaths are one of the acts we look after on our label at Love by Mistake. He’s one of the greatest creatives we know, being both in the audio and visual world (combining productions with beautiful visuals). Check out the video for piece “Sold”; it’s mesmerising…”.

3) Demob Happy –

“Known these punk loving’ criminals for over 2 years now, and some of the nicest guys in the rock world I know. They’re like a ‘Geordie style Kings of Leon’, if Kings of Leon would man up and play their instruments with no fear. I put on two parties at the Great Escape in Brighton the past 2 years, one for Peace, and one for Superfood and Demob definitely helped tear a new hole in the Brighton music scene”.

4) Royce Wood Junior –

“The man behind some of the great Jamie Woon work, Royce Wood Junior is by far, the greatest producer this era of post-rnb producers has ever seen. I listen to a lot of his work, and it’s beautifully stunning; OCD in places to the point that I have no clue where to start if I were to produce something of similar ilk. Check out for sure, his new single ‘Midnight’ , available on 37 Adventures. Literally the UK’s answer to Pharrell’s Happy; you’ll be singing it for weeks”.

5) Rude –

“This one is a strange one but won’t say much more… Just take a listen”.

Check out IYES Spotify Playlist below:

IYES new single ‘Glow‘ is released on march 1st.

Words: Shane Hawkins

The post PLAYLIST: IYES appeared first on Wonderland.

Le Youth aka Wes James once again fuses 90’s R&B with his signature breezy Californian style and defining tone. Sampling Brandy’s ‘I Wanna Be Down’, on new single ‘Real’, the track has already smashed the Top 10 on Hypemachine’s Most Talked About Tracks.

Ease yourself into the weekend with this guest mix by the man himself, which features classic, nostalgic cuts from Nelly & Kelly and Shaggy, amongst others.

Ever since he released last year’s summer anthem ‘C O O L’ he has been propelled into the forefront of the dance music realm and he’s been gaining a dedicated fanbase along the way.

‘Real‘ is released on March 16th.

Words: Shane Hawkins

The post WONDERMIX: Le Youth appeared first on Wonderland.

Wonderland New Noise alumni, JP Cooper, is a songwriter whose music has caught the attention of fans in the UK and beyond.

His writing transcends genre, but finds a constant in the passion that JP pours into his craft. We’ve been listening to his new EP, ‘When The Darkness Comes’, and when we got an opportunity to catch him for a Wonderland Session we rushed down to South London and captured this special performance of ‘Closer’.

When The Darkness Comes EP is out on iTunes now po.st/WTDC2  /

Video: Greg Barnes @clingfilms

The post Wonderland Session: JP Cooper appeared first on Wonderland.

With their collaborative and infectious new single ‘Gravity‘ destined for this weekend’s official Top 10, we thought it would be a great idea to take the Artist’s minds off chart positions and live show rehearsals by getting Fresh and Ella to sit down and draw one another’s portraits, as we threw some quick-fire Q’s in their direction. Enjoy.

Fresh, you’ve collaborated with everyone from Rita Ora to Ellie Goulding. What really stood out about Ella that made you want her to be part of the new single?

DJ Fresh: It was her hair really!
Ella: He sent me a message on Twitter and I didn’t see it, my mum did and asked if I knew DJ Fresh. He then got in contact saying that he liked my work that I’d done with Paloma Faith and Sigma, which was cool. I went down and had about 2 hours in the studio and by the end of that we had ‘Gravity’

Were there any compromises / creative differences when it came to how the final track would sound?

E: We had that issue all day as initially the session didn’t flow too well because we’d only just met. We stopped recording for a bit and just got to chat and get to know one another and that made everything flow much better.
F: We sat down with the piano and the ideas came from nowhere.

If you could have guest-featured on one another’s individual hits, which track would you have chosen to be part of?

E: For me it would be ‘Louder ‘-  I think that’s my favourite.I really like ‘Hot Right Now’ too but that might be too close to home because of the Rita Ora comparisons.
F: Rita has an incredible voice too.

How do you think would fare in the modern day as artists without the help of social media?

E: I’ve grown up with it so I think it varies. I think it’s great to project your personality out there to an audience who may not have otherwise got to see it. I miss my privacy, but that comes with the job. I think I could cope without it though. I think we’re losing some of the organic elements of the music industry because of social media.
F: I think it’s bad for music that things other than the quality of the music itself are becoming more important than the music. At the same time it’s a reflection of what the people want. I’m pretty passionate about music and maybe other people aren’t as much. For us guys, as musicians, because we’re so close to it we really care about it and want to create new things and have artist integrity. Social media promotes the idea of people being just famous for the sake of being famous. When you see people who are genuinely talented getting ignored in favour of people  that dress in a crazy way or go out with someone famous, it’s a bit depressing. It is a great tool for emerging artists though.
E: I think Adele is incredible at it! You don’t ever hear from her and when you do, it’s for a good reason. I enjoy that. MNEK is another one who is great at it! He’s very active and has a great sense of humour.

We have you both dawing one another’s portraits or us today – how would you describe ‘Gravity’ as a painting or an artist?

E: I think ‘Gravity’ as an artist would be Banksy.  The idea is that nothing can stop Banksy from getting his art out there and the lyrics to Gravity are that ‘even Gravity can’t hold us down’.
D: The cover of the single by definition and the video very much characterise the song.

Is there a certain track by another musician that you would loved to have written?

E: ‘Telephone’ by Lady Gaga and Beyonce – the video is great and I wish I had a dance routine for it.
D: There’s a bunch that I wish I hadn’t made!

To be in with a chance of winning both signed portraits from DJ Fresh and Ella Eyre, see details here.

Photography: Christopher McCrory | www.christophermc.co.uk

The post DJ FRESH × ELLA EYRE Get Pure Arty for Wonderland appeared first on Wonderland.

How did the collaboration with RAINS first begin?

It’s been a fairly natural relationship to be honest. I developed this idea of starting shows wearing long jackets with the hood up, boxer mode, fight ready! When I started buying a jacket or two I found Rains and they became my choice of jacket for on stage. Since then they’ve been really positive about it all and thrown a few ideas and jackets our way.

Do you have any key / staples pieces from the brand that you favour?

It depends on the occasion. I can be a bit of a showoff at times so the bolder the better. I wore the long white rains onstage for our last UK tour. Day to day though it makes sense for me to wear a darker jacket. Living in Glasgow it’s a blessing to have a waterproof jacket that actually carries style and fits with the rest of my wardrobe.

Do you wear a different colour RAINS jacket, depending on your mood / City you’re playing in?

Usually I’ll pick one for a full tour. I like things to be steady and constant at my end and allow the audience to dictate the mood of a show. That’s what keeps it fresh. Festivals tend to bring out a more colourful side.

What are your wardrobe essentials? Any key items that you couldn’t live without?

Life on the road dictates some fashion restrictions but my Dr. Martens have been an everyday choice for the last couple of years. Also, black Levis are a main staple too. To live up to the cliche of rock and roll music and sunglasses I’d add my Ray Bans or Tens to this too.

Are you fairly fashion-savvy? Do you have any favourite designers or places / cities to shop?

I think I might be? I definitely see myself as a fan of clothes and the whole aesthetic matters to me. Whether it’s the cut or tone of an outfit? I do pay attention to some brands like The Kooples but I was directed there by a good friend Harris Elliot. Shopping in London is quite hard to beat! I have been spoiled though with touring in America and Canada. LA, New York and Toronto. Glasgow is always on the pulse with its own spin on fashion and style trends too. It’s always been a city that has a strong identity and wide range of shopping.

What have you boys been up too since ‘Great Divide’ was released? Can we expect any new material this year? We’re loving ‘Oceans’

Thanks! We’ve been round Europe a couple of times and North America. We are going to Australia for the first time in February which is a big deal for us. The same day and stage at a Soundwave Festival as Marilyn Manson so we might channel our inner goths! And yes, we are looking to do one final single from the record to align with our UK headline tour in May.

Do you have any personal favourite tracks that you love to perform?

It can all be a bit of a blur most of the time to be honest but right now the dynamic in a song called ‘Brothers and Sisters’ is really enjoyable to mess around with. Either that or ‘Oceans’. I don’t really sing like that on any other track.

What are the highlights of 2014? Both personal as well as career / band wise?

We toured with the Kings of Leon in the UK. That was a pretty big deal. They’ve always been a band we’ve looked up to and respected and never imagined that our bands would be on the same bill so when they asked us to play in stadiums with them we were elated.

You’ve just announced the Spring tour – what can we expect from the new live dates?

We are looking to try and raise the bar like we always do when we go back to a city again. We almost pride ourselves on really putting on the best show possible for the venue. We are still so grateful that people come and watch us live so we try to give as much back as we can. One of the shows will be our first arena headline show but we will be taking nearly the same production into a couple of the smaller venues so it could be spectacular!

Is there anywhere in the world that you would still love to play a gig?

We still haven’t been to South America, the Far East and, strangely, Spain so they are next on our list. Japan has always been a goal of ours too. So many iconic stories and visuals in relation to touring rock bands happen at shows in Japan. The culture differences is what really attracts me. It’s addictive getting to travel to new places and be out of your comfort zone. It’s one of the big bonuses of being a musician with a record deal. Hopefully 2015 sees us crossing them off the list for the first time.

Catch Twin Atlantic live throughout May:
05 – Albert Hall – Manchester
07 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
08 – O2 Academy – Birmingham
09 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow

See more from RAINS here.

Words: Shane Hawkins
Photography: Edward T Cooke – http://edward-cooke.co.uk/
Assistant: Rose Wootton.

The post Twin Atlantic × Rains appeared first on Wonderland.

Ahead of MTV Brand New’s winner being announced, we caught up with one of the exciting, emerging acts to have been shortlisted for this years gong, Becky Hill, to find out who she has her eye on for the next 12 months.

KWABS .

“Love this guy! A pioneer for the electro soul movement and I fully support him”.

SHIFT K3Y.

“My musical brother, we’ve written tunes together for each other & he is a true talented genius. I’ve heard what he’s been working on & its super exciting”.

MNEK.

“My musical husband, we’ve given birth to my first number one and my first single and his stuff is even bigger! I’m aiming to be word perfect before the release of his album this year”.

SINEAD HARNETT.

“Kitten has a voice of pure velvet and a Thairish (Thai-Irish mix) kindhearted charm that no right minded human can resist. Oh, did  mention she’s one of the hottest girls I’ve ever met?”

ELLA EYRE–

“FIRE! I mean the obvious is the hair, the sexiness and the voice, but what I’m excited for is the most is really hearing Ella’s personality come out on her album. She’s such a fun and fiery person to be around and I can’t wait to hear more”.

Fans can still vote for who they want to be crowned winner of MTV Brand New, right here. #MTVBrandNew

Words: Shane Hawkins.

The post BECKY HILL – MY TOP 5 ONES TO WATCH FOR 2015 appeared first on Wonderland.