Alice Jemima #10 - Nightcall (Kavinsky Cover)

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Hello April, no April Fools here, hope you had a good Easter. I ran 20 miles and took the weekend offline. Now I return with a post I meant to do on Friday when Alice Jemima released a little, intimate cover version of "Nightcall" by Kavinsky (famous for its placing on the Drive soundtrack - something Alice has seemingly found herself listening to recently).

Her version, just like earlier takes of Lana Del Rey's "Million Dollar Man", a seasonal cover of "Driving Home For Christmas" or Strangers' "Safe / Pain" strips the track bare, gone are the originals distorted / alluring vocal duet and cool retro-synth melody and in their stead Alice replaces them with a comforting fingerpicked waltz and a caressing vocals which reveals the tracks beautiful inner heart and takes you to the softest, sweetest place imaginable.

Alice Jemima #9 - Driving Home For Christmas

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Alice Jemima has put her own spin on a few cover tracks already this year, from Lana's "Million Dollar Man" to Strangers "Safe / Pain", each saw Alice add her own spin (and infinite charm) to the original version, often pared down to essentially Alice's exquisitely soft voice and her delicate guitar patterns, transforming cover songs to almost her own with an impeccable home recorded sound. Alice has now turned her attention to Christmas, with a beautiful version of Chris Rea's "Driving Home For Christmas", two voices about as far apart as can be, but the results are the same, instant love.

Gone are the sweeping orchestrations and the fast pace, instead we've got Alice with her signature Hofner plucks carried by soft programmed beats and later twinkling key strokes (with a nice little nod to Jingle Bells) melting your heart (of course). Her soft vocals turn the track into a sweet serenade, perhaps not the version you'll turn to as the Turkey is about to be served and celebrations are in full flow but later in the evening, when you've had your fill of after dinner mints and ample sherry, this version will make a blissfully conclusion to your day.

A free download is below, also check out the accompanying video too:

Tips For 2013 - Part One

The next four posts are going to be my Tips for 2013 posts, I know some people find these sort of posts pointless but I'm a geek at heart and geeks do love a list... I know many of you will feel the same, I'm limiting myself to a thirteen acts this year - well it will be 2013 -  which meant a few difficult decisions and the acts will be listed alphabetically, starting with four today and then three acts following in each of the next three posts.

As with last years posts, my tips aren't necessarily acts I'm tipping for stardom (though a few perhaps will hit / already are close to the mainstream) but are a thirteen new acts (I'm not tipping artists that have already released an album) that I believe you should follow over the year ahead, without further rambling...

Just Music That I Like's 13 for 2013 - Part One:

Alice Jemima - Facebook

I think I blogged about Alice Jemima more than any other artist in 2012 so her inclusion in my tips for next year is the logical next step, a year which has seen an increasing number of people become equally smitten with Alice and her sublime music ("By Your Side" taken from her recent, self-released EP All The Boyfriends has amassed some ten thousand plays in a couple of months), if you're not yourself, taken a listen below and you'll soon understand why...

Possessing a voice that defies beauty, Alice's calm, soft whispers will caress and charm even the hardest of souls as her intimate lyrics melt glaciers. We've been spoilt throughout the year with Alice releasing a number of tracks on her soundcloud page, tracks like the aforementioned "By Your Side", "Far From Here" and "First Love" are all as close to perfect as you can get, delivered with her trademark grace and elegance throughout, Alice's gorgeous, tender vocals and shimmering guitar patterns create the sort of music that can only become to backdrop to dozen (hundreds/thousands soon?) of people falling in love.

I'm sure 2013 will see Alice to continue to grow as an artist and performer, perhaps it's too soon to be demanding an album, she's still only nineteen, and I'll be here saying similar words this time next year in my tips for 2014 posts, still one thing I do know is that I'll be amongst those first in line to hear what Alice delivers next.

Bird - Facebook

Bird were guaranteed their place amongst my bands to watch after two recent live performances blew me away, firstly upstaging Tamaryn at the Lexington and then just a week later playing another stunning with the wonderful PINS.

The Liverpool three piece are led the celestial voice of songwriter/bassist/guitarist Adele Emmas with Sian Williams providing stunning guitarscapes and complimenting harmonies alongside Alexis Samata on the doom-laden drums. Those live sets saw the trio bring to life their recent Shadows EP with a live power and grace, equally dark and mystical with rich swirling guitar tapestries and superlative defying harmonies, it was like being transported to an otherworldly place of pure, spiritual beauty.

On record Bird offer the perfect combination of delicate ethereality and melancholy, the haunting "Shadows" will intoxicate while "Monsters" is another that hints at future greatness where intricate guitar plucks weave around repeating kick drums to create the chilly ambience in which Adele's vocals soar and entrance. Bird's music is dripped in emotion where ghostly harmonies and textured arrangement beguile in their beauty.

I'm very much looking forward to hearing more of their eerie fairy-tales in 2013.

Daughter - Facebook

'I almost picked Daughter in my 2011 tips, I did include them in my tips for 2012 list, when in-so-fact it's going to be 2013 when Daughter becomes a household name'. I said that just a few days ago on my review of 2012's tips. This time around I'm positive I'm right.

2012 saw Daughter sign to the mighty 4AD and sell out shows on both sides of the Atlantic while releasing just the one single (the incredible "Smother"), with an early 2013 UK tour similarly close to selling out two months in advance and various TV placements the trio are perfectly placed to make a mark as one of the acts of 2013 (this post was written prior to the announcement of the BBC Sound of 2013 poll but surely a place their beckons?).

2011's EP's The Wild Youth and His Young Heart highlighted Elena Tonra as a prodigious talent, possessing such natural beauty and grace with her breathy vocals and spellbinding songs, backed by deftly subtle instrumentation Daughter's haunting melodies, combined with some of the most intimate, remarkable lyrics of this generation that will, in my opinion,take Daughter as far as they want to go.

If Daughter aren't on the short-list for the Mercury album prize with their debut album (as yet unannounced but due in 2013), I'll eat my proverbial hat....

Embers - Facebook

Another act returning from last years choices (I did say they probably would) are Manchester's Embers, a band I've mentioned twice in the past couple of weeks so it's quite difficult not to repeat some of my words of gushing praise "a ground-breaking, a seven minute journey beyond comprehension that is truly, truly stunning". That's the sort of superlatives the quartet must have got used to after a few weeks of positive reactions to their incredible live video "Hollow Cage"...

I've read comparisons to Muse when they were good and Hope of the States time and time again, it's easy to see why but "Hollow Cage" isn't the only majestic thing these Northern boys have done. Exuding ambitions far beyond most of their peers their early demos "Days Turn Into Weeks" and "Without Fear of Favour" introduced dark aural storms capable of rendering you speechless, building and building upon unsettling atmospheres, ferocious, powerful and hugely complex. Their now sold out debut 7" Tunnel Visions added some studio polish to the terrifying soundscapes and through colossal crescendos of echoing sounds came across like the end of the world. Epic, cinematic and extraordinary.

Now "Hollow Cage" seemingly has given Embers some breakthrough from UK blogs to column inches in the sort of things that A&R guys look at and I'm pretty sure Embers have had more than a couple of availability inquiries recently. Will 2013 bring their debut album? I don't know, it may still be too soon, I do know that Embers are one of those rare bands that you need to embrace, physically moving, emotionally touching, I can't wait to sample their live show.

Alice Jemima #8 - By Your Side / EP Release

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In a couple of my previous Alice Jemima posts I've mentioned my desire to have some of Alice's music as a physical product to play to my hearts content. Soundcloud / youtube are great but you can't play them in the car / train / anywhere without 3G... thankfully that wait is now over. Though not quite a slab of gorgeous wax (to follow please!) Alice has self-released her debut EP All The Boyfriends as a limited CD which you can buy now via Big Cartel (for just £3.00).

To make that purchase go from must-have to essential Alice has treated us to a stream of one of the new tracks "By Your Side", with the addition of programmed beats, heavenly backing coo's and ambient, slow-motion guitar "By Your Side" melts your heart just as quickly as anything I've heard from Alice before. Her gorgeous, delicate vocals and the seemingly effortless way she keeps producing these understated, melodious beauties within the four walls of her home (the EP was written, produced and recorded at home) really must be turning a few big-wigs heads by now, Alice though, to date has controlled her material and decisions impeccably and long may that continue. Equal parts charm, talent and beauty, Alice Jemima is most definitely one of 2012's shining lights.

Go buy the EP and tell your friends.

Alice Jemima #7 - One a Day / Safe / Pain

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I've been over-working myself the past week, so much so that I've only just got around to listening to last weeks final two tracks on Alice Jemima's rather wonderful 'One a Day' series that start last week...

I've previously mentioned the first three tracks so I won't repeat myself again but Day four is probably my (new) favourite of the lot, "When You Dance" possesses all of those attributes I've talked about countless times already, wrapped in a charming, intimate atmosphere Alice's deceptively simple guitar led melodies and pretty as a flower vocals could melt the sternest of hearts.

The final day's track was met with 'technical gremlins' which meant soundcloud was used ahead of the live videos of the rest of the week, which is a shame because I'd be interested to see the live process in making "Oblivious", possibly the most ambitious track of Alice's so far, with laptop beats added to soft, glistening guitar twangs and layered backing vocals. I already know the dazzling effect of Alice's sweet, delicate tracks and it's good to see her experimenting.

For most people five new tracks in a week would be enough, but not Alice Jemima! Seemingly more prolific than 80's era Prince, a new track was released yesterday, a cover of London electronic act Strangers' track "Safe / Pain" and it's all kind of goosebumps too, taking a dramatic 80's leaning synth-pop epic and turning into something so painfully beautiful. Love.

Alice Jemima #6 - One a Day Update

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The last week of June 2012 should probably be renamed Alice Jemima week, with some parts of the country wallowing in football misery, muggy weather (I've missed the floods) and Wimbledon (though the guy nobody had heard of beating Nadal was pretty fun) what better to pick you up as we approach the weekend than an update on the 'One a Day' series from one of the most delicious voices posted here on a (possibly too) frequent basis.

Indeed, I've already posted about day one's track "I Didn't Know What To Expect" on Monday and today I'm bringing the next two (I know you can stream day four and maybe even five now too but I'm running behind). ..

I'm loving this series, Alice has already spoilt us with various self-recorded demos and these live tracks serve as a perfect compliment, seemingly recorded around Alice's house with some bespoke decoration in the background the intimate nature of the videos only adds to the charm and character, it's fair to say I completely adore day three's track, the perfectly titled "Sweeter Kind", a sweeter kind is exactly the sort of description to describe Alice's music, though a comment on youtube maybe hits the nail on the head ever better "You can put so much across with just your voice and a few simple notes. Very nice."

Day two's "Say It" similarly shines using just those attributes, guitar twangs and sincere vocals, effortless and defyingly beautiful. See you in a few days for the final tracks no doubt!

Alice Jemima #5 - I Didn't Know What To Expect

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I've already written enough superlatives about Alice Jemima this year that I was left a little awkward when I briefly spoke to Alice after she'd played a beautiful show in the wonderful upper room of Blacks last Monday (a gig hosted by Society of the Golden Slippers - follow the link to keep informed of their shows), pictured (credit Brad Inglis) the intimate room was the perfect showcase to Alice's irresistibly seducing vocals and delicate guitar lines. Bigger (though hopefully equally grandiose) rooms surely await this talented young (Happy 19th for a few weeks ago, Alice!) singer-songwriter from Devon, the watching A&R guys and fellow bloggers (hello me in the picture) surely sensed it too. Now that was a lot of brackets!

Alice returned today (not that she went away, with a Rhianna cover posted on her soundcloud only a few weeks ago and "First Love" posted here last month) with a lovely live video to a new track "I Didn't Know What To Expect". I did and I'm not one bit disappointed. A fleetingly short track at just over two minutes but for its duration you're left devastated by Alice's beautifully hushed vocals, fragile and simple, just genuinely gorgeous.

I've got a handsome Alice Jemima slide collection forming, now all I'm after is some music to spin on my record player!

Edit: this could go horribly wrong, my first ever attempt at Blogger app for the iPhone. Since I wrote this blog I've come to learn that this track is in fact the first of five new tracks to be shared in a similar manner this week. If that's not something to get excited about, I'm not sure what is!

Alice Jemima #4 - First Love

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Before I start with my review of The Great Escape festival here's an update on not quite my first love, but certainly one of my latest loves, the exquisite and beautiful Alice Jemima.

The prolific Devon singer-songwriter has shown up here probably more than anyone else in 2012 and here I find myself writing about Alice again after she (for the umpteenth time) causes butterflies inside. The latest of her garageband demo tracks to send me all funny is the aching beauty of "First Love", released whilst I was getting ready to head to Brighton it highlights perfectly why so many of us bloggers have been swept off our feet...

Delicate guitar shimmers and a gently plucked chord rhythm leads the way for Alice's pretty, warming vocals that just like in everything I've heard from Alice so far, it's the deceptive simplicity of her voice / melody combination that shines through. "First Love" is just genuinely gorgeous, Alice's lyrics candid and intimate as she sings to a past love, "you'll always be my first love, but that's the last love, I give to you"... there is good news seemingly for the increasing number of admires as Alice appears to have moved on "There's no point in going backwards, if I can't go forwards with you". Form an orderly line boys...

I make that at least a half dozen wonderful tracks and hopefully news of an EP or wax release is to follow soon. If an MP3 streamed via soundcloud (new listeners can find the rest here) can sound this good, just imagine how warm Alice's voice will be on wax. Hmmm.

Alice Jemima #3 - Million Dollar Man

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It's impossible to do this post without mentioning Lana Del Rey so I'll just fire straight into it, the track here (covered so delightfully by the wonderful Alice Jemima, more on that in a minute) is one of her songs, "Million Dollar Man". Straight up, I don't know the original, I stayed completely out of the LDR debate that swept the Internet towards the end of last year and carried on until about, and somewhat ironically, the time of her record release (surely that's the time when debate should have happened?) but her original tracks didn't get me overly excited so I let other people have that particular discussion, that's the best way if you ask me... if you aren't too interested in something leave it people who are to talk about .

This version of "Million Dollar Man" is so unbelievably gorgeous that I can't help but post it here, Alice said to me that she records her demos on garageband in her home, the quality of them though will surely make some studios jealous, this recording is as ever, impeccable. Delicate beats and guitar twangs provide a melancholic platform for perhaps Alice's finest vocal performance to date. Her soft, hushed vocals will seduce and set your heart aflutter, if you've not heard of Alice Jemima before, get ready to fall in love (though please join the queue behind me and Robin at Breaking Move Waves!).

Alice Jemima #2 - All The Boyfriends

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I'm pretty sure I mentioned falling in love when I first featured Alice Jemima here last month, it's safe to say I have, consider me well and truly smitten. To compound those inner butterflies Alice has released a new track "All The Boyfriends", delicate guitar twangs give the platform for Alice's soft, heart-warming vocals and pretty as a flower lyrics. It's undeniably sweet and innocent and gorgeous enough to make grown men quite giddy.

A re-working of one of Alice's older tracks "Red Coat" has also been released, this studio recording is clean and crisper and allows the upbeat melody to shimmer and shine on what is perhaps Alice's future hit single, for surely Radio Two listeners would surely stop their household chores for a listen to this charming slice of pure, beautiful pop.

I'm delighted to say that Alice has agreed to play my forthcoming live music night at The Old Queen's Head on April 10th, the full line-up is pretty incredible if I do say so myself (and I do and will repeatedly), also playing are Emily and the Woods, Like Spinning and Anna Lena & The Orchids. Four incredible acts all who've previously featured here on the same evening... I can't wait! For more details / tickets head to my events tumblr here.

Alice Jemima - New Music "Introducing"

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As primarily a new music blog, I, like many other bloggers spend quite a few hours each week listening to new artists, some acts manage to take your breathe away for the right reasons and some for not quite the same. In the 18 months or so that this blog has been running (at various stages of development) I've discovered numerous acts that now make up most of my favourite artists, that's part of the joy and reason for spending (too) much of your spare time doing what is for quite a few people a job (this blog has no source of revenue, nor will it ever, that's not the point).

Each blogger has their own methods for new music discovery, sure you organically discover some acts at gigs etc but to keep up with the (self-inflicted) demand of almost a daily post you have to have your own trusted sources, there isn't the time in a day to listen to every email / blog so instead I've a network of friends, blogs (most listed in my blog roll on the right), email contacts that I read. Two of the avenues near the top for me are fellow blogs Breaking More Waves and Flying With Anna, both who were way, way ahead of me in posting about today's post, Alice Jemima.

There is (an already) strong collection of material on Alice's soundcloud for you to stream, I've included my favourites below. Her most recent additions "Take My Hand" and "Far From Here" both highlight a soft and intimate vocal that is overwhelmingly beautiful and fragile, backed by delicate guitar melodies the result is deceptively simple, through her charming voice and heartfelt lyrics display a level of prettiness and innocence that will touch even darkest the souls. Her videos are equally delicious, offering a wistful compliment to her gorgeous, soothing output.

 I know Valentine's day was a few days ago but it's never too late to fall in love, listen below and do just that...