Gambian born Swedish singer Seinabo Sey is readying her debut EP for release on 17^th November. Entitled ‘For Madeleine’, the E.P is named after her mother.

The 23 year-old sent the blogosphere in a frenzy with her May 2014 release, ‘Hard Time’, which charted at No.1 on Hype Machine on three separate occasions. The ‘Hard Time’ video was styled by Swedish Fashion Designer Ida Klamborn whose collection at Stockholm Fashion Week went down a storm. Seinabo was on-hand to give an impromptu performance at the show which acted as it’s soundtrack.

Sey grew up in what could be described as a chaotic, creative household in Sweden to where she moved from Gambia with her mother and late father, the renowned West African musician, Mawdo Sey. Much of her music echoes her experiences of growing up as a young Gambian woman in Sweden. “I’ve had to live between two different cultures where you don’t really feel you belong anywhere and you have to understand people first to make them understand you,” she says.

A truly unique individual, the politically minded Sey infuses her songwriting with a socially conscious slant, propelling pop music beyond the instantly dispensable; this is pop music with meaning. Following a sold out jam-packed show at Notting Hill Arts Club in July, Seinabo will return to London for an exclusive show on the 16^th October at the Basement  – Edition Hotel.

Words: Shane Hawkins.

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The phrase ‘summer = youth’ perfectly encapsulates the delicious carefree fun of the high summer LAZY OAF x NASTY GAL collaboration collection.Inspired by candy packaging and nineties kids sticker albums it fuses the signature cartoon oddities of Lazy Oaf and the effortlessly on trend silhouettes of USA online store Nasty Gal.

We’ve fallen in love with everything from the crop tees to cut out dresses and those watermelon print hot pants. The collection makes us want to road trip in the sunshine and drink milkshakes in bubblegum hues wearing tropical fruit prints. If the success of Lazy Oaf’s last collaboration with Kickers is anything to go by get onto the collection quick to guarantee a summer of arcade dancing, sliding down bowling alleys and crazy karaoke posing.

The collection is available exclusively from www.lazyoaf.com and www.nastygal.com and at the Lazy Oaf London Flagship Store from Tuesday 28th May.

http://vimeo.com/66549174

Words: Laura Isabella

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You're pretty mysterious. What can you tell us about ROMANS?

See my Twitter @iamromans for more details.

How did ROMANS kick off and how did you arrive at your current sound?

By accident, which is how I believe the most successful discoveries are made.

Have you done anything in music before?

Oodles.

Your sound is pretty balls-out rock'n'roll, to put it mildly. Is this a correct assessment?

Well I wouldn't say that my sound is. This track certainly has a rock element but it only features a single guitar line so “balls-out” is perhaps a slightly overzealous assessment. Unless of-course you're a eunuch, in which case, it's fairly apt.

One of the other music group called Romans we could find is a “short-lived female Japanese pop unit pronounced 'Romance'” (says Wikipedia) who released one single called “Sexy Night: Wasurerarenai Kare“. Do you have anything in common with them?

Only our mutual appreciation for irony and the ongoing litigation.

How do you feel about the current rock'n'roll music scene?

Fine.

What kind of film would ROMANS soundtrack, if any?

Anything, literally. Music itself has the power to change the emotion of any moving image. Put a Dvorak concerto on top of slapstick and suddenly it's art house. I love working with film.

We're sensing a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas vibe with this video. How did you come up the idea?

The Hawaiian shirt was perhaps a subconscious homage to Hunter. However the video itself is connected to the next videos that I will release in the coming months.

What's next for you?

Keep checking the website and all will be revealed.

www.IamRomans.com

Words: Zing Tsjeng

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Summer Pearl: please introduce yourself.

I’m a 16 year old singer/songwriter, originally from Wembley. I studied musical theatre at BRIT but then left to focus on my music, which is my ultimate passion.

Who or what are you main musical influences?

Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Janelle Monae. There are so many more. I just try to be honest in music: if I can’t feel it, I can’t sing it

You’re very young. Are you at all concerned about being another female teen in such an over-subscribed industry?

No, I don’t think there are many vocalists my age who are in the same genre as me.

You’re an ex-BRIT school student, an establishment famous for producing some of the most successful female singer/songwriters of the last decade. What did you learn there?

At the BRIT school they introduced us to a lot of aspects of the industry – also [we were] surrounded by other talented, creative, positive students. It was an amazing experience. I loved being there.

What can we expect from Summer Pearl for the remainder of the year?

This year I have a few live dates, and I’ll be realising a few little surprises along the way. I’m really concentrating on getting my mixture out there for you all to hear, so hopefully that should be completed by the end of the year.

Words: Shane Hawkins
Film by Tom Starling.
Edited by Kevin Morosky.
Images by Kevin Morosky for Gloria Loves Valentine

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Your nightlife company This Is… Circus has just unveiled it’s freshest club-night venture, CLOUD. Would you tell us a little bit more about it? What can we expect?

Kris Di Angelis and I are listening to a load of deep house; it’s the music we’re really digging. We wanted to set up a cool club night in Soho for a while, in keeping with our pioneering approach to parties in that area of London. The name CLOUD seemed quite organic and zeitgeisty and it also stands for “Circus – Loud”… although that only popped into my head about a week ago. A happy accident!

You’re also curating a stage at Lovebox festival again this year. Who can we expect to see on the This Is Circus stage?

We have Mika and DEV performing, and a whole load of cool DJs like Felix Da Housecat and Jaime Ritchie. Kris Di Angelis is putting on an awesome live show on the stage – a DJ set accompanied by an orchestra and singers. There’s lots of visual too – Thomas Knights has made some awesome video for the screens. It’s going to be a mental day.

How will CLOUD differ from your previous parties, Room Service and Circus? What will it bring to London nightlife?

Room Service is so gay. It’s Latino GoGo dancers and trannies and muscle boys dancing with their tops off to house music. Circus is big now, it’s a festival brand and we’ll be touring it around Europe and Asia in the near future. CLOUD is going to be like the early days of Circus – very underground and crazy. Lots of colour.

You recently produced and co-wrote The Night, a new three track EP with former Spice Girl Melanie. C. How did the collaboration begin?

I loved “I Turn To You” and wanted her to revisit those dance days. She was writing an album at the time, and even though the tracks we made didn’t work with that release, we wanted to put the music out to make people dance! It has a bit of an underground vibe. There’s no TV promo or record signings, so it’s a lot more like a traditional dance release.

As a promoter, DJ, club-host and now a successful musician, how does Jodie relax?

I don’t really. I go on holiday a few times a year somewhere hot and far away and that’s when the phone goes off and I check my emails every other day for. The rest of the time I just work, but I enjoy my job so it doesn’t seem like a chore in the slightest.

The EP is doing amazingly well throughout the UK and Europe. Is music your main passion?

Music, nightlife, people, fashion. Working in clubs you get the whole lot in one place. That’s why I chose this job.

How will you be celebrating the Jubilee holiday?

By running around being a big ol’ Queen. I have a load of DJ sets that weekend, it’s going to be fun! I’m a big fan of the royal family actually, I think they’re great for the country and I’m glad we’ve hung on to them.

Words: Shane Hawkins

Find My Ex Girlfriend

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Tell us about The Playlist.

We approached quite a few record stores in different places around the world, often in places where we’ve already got boutiques, and asked if they’d want to be part of this one off project where we allow them to sell through farfetch.com. We now have six stores who have each created a little edit of their favourite, rare and exclusive pieces, which we’re selling through the site for the next three months.

You’ve chosen record stores from all over the world – are you hoping for a something of a cultural exchange?

Yeah, I think that’s part of it really. Obviously these record stores, it’s the same as the fashion boutiques that we work with, are used to dealing with local customers and day-to-day local people that have always come to their shop. So now we’re offering them a much more international audience. We sell fashion to around 105 countries – we have customers in all those places. So this offers them that international exposure that they probably don’t get in their locality.

Can you tell us about some of the exclusive products that will be offered?

Admittedly it’s quite an old one, but there’s an 18-track vinyl sampler that Bruce Springsteen recorded back in the 80s. It’s used, but Amoeba were able to get their hands on it. There’s a real variety, some real up and coming stuff. Some have been recorded in store – Ellie Goulding recorded something in Amoeba, and they’ve created a record from that. So there’s really exclusive stuff. There’s a lot of vinyl on offer too. For example, there’s a record by John Swing, who’s a house DJ from the 80s – it’s a white label and Black Market have only just been able to get their hands on it again. A lot of the record stores that we spoke to are saying that vinyl’s suddenly becoming really popular again. Which I guess is similar to the way that people buy vintage fashion.

Why did you want to get involved with Record Store Day?

We decided to approach independent record stores as they have that same kind of spirit of entrepreneurship and independence that you find in fashion. They’re also struggling a bit these days in the way that independent fashion boutiques are. So it’s us showing our support for the little guys.

What can you tell us about the video that’s launching alongside The Playlist?

We wanted to bring the whole thing to life really. So we thought it might be nice to make some films and work with up and coming artists. We really hit it off with a band called S.C.U.M. They loved this place where they had recorded their first album – a recording studio out in an old farm and mill in Hampshire, called Earth Terminal studios. So we took them out there. They hand picked items of clothing from our site for the video and chose some really interesting things – some from up and coming designers who you wouldn’t instantly think of. It all felt really natural.

Words: Tom Shepherd

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You’re one of the most recognisable models out there. Are you concerned that your music may not be taken seriously because of this?

Not being taken seriously as a musician is something that has crossed my mind, but I wouldn’t really say it was a concern. You either like the music
or you don’t.

How integral to a band’s success is carving and nurturing a certain image?

Image is very important in the music industry, every big band in history has had an image weather it was suits, punks or hippies. A lot of people will judge your band just on a promo. It’s kind of sad really, but that’s just the way it is.

How did you guys meet?

John Turnham has been one of my best friends for the last 12 years. John Martinelli I have known for about seven years through local bands on the scene. We supported each others’ bands along the way and always talked about starting a project together. Gulli is the newest member of the band. I have only known him for about a year and he has been in the band for about six months. John Martinelli went to uni with him and they worked on music projects together over the last few years. I was really excited when he joined as he is not only an extremely talented musician (as they all are), but one of the funniest people I have ever met.

How would you describe the band’s sound?

That’s difficult. How would you describe it? “DEATH METAL AMBIENT THRASH CORE”? I guess it’s just progressive rock/ singer songwriter. One music
magazine called us “post-folk”.

Was it a group compromise to create that sound or are you all on the same sort of wave-length and listen to the same sort of genres?

We have a really mixed bag of musical influences. Everything from John Mayer to Norma Jean is on our playlist.

The debut EP was pretty mellow. What sort of sounds can we expect to hear on the LP?

I would say that it’s all a progression. I am writing differently now to how I was six months ago.

What can we expect from the band this year? Any tours or festival dates scheduled?

We are actually currently looking for a booking agent so we can tour as much as possible. Every day we have requests from fans all around the world
to come and play in their city, and we would love to.

The single launch “Lights” is being held at The Old Blue Last in Hoxton. What is it that you love about London?

London is the best city in the world. I would have liked to do the launch in south London to be honest, because that’s our home borough but east is were
it is at right now.

Words: Shane Hawkins

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