Wilkinson – Songs that are putting a smile on my face

I’ve shared some of his songs on here before now, but couldn’t resist with this one. I am absolutely in love with Wilkinson and the use of powerful vocals in his music. I adored his last release of Afterglow – particularly the lyrics and the video which I thought were really beautiful and such a realistic portrayal of a young couple. Despite being released later on, this song perfectly summed up my summer of nights out, dancing and festivals with good friends, and of course my boyfriend. The song was so beautiful and simple, but amazing for the dance floor. I’ve actually just looked up the name of the singer on the track – Becky Hill – who also features on Rudimental’s Powerless track – another beauty. She has such an amazing voice and apparently was a semi-finalist on The Voice. Amazingly, she has actually featured on quite a few other great tracks that I also love without me even realising – alongside Rudimental, Paolo Nutini and Alex Clare. I’d say she’s one to watch!

This latest track, Too Close, is another gem and I really can’t get enough of it – it’s constantly being played in my car, along with Clean Bandit’s Rather Be. Another stunning vocal and it really makes me want to dance – it makes me think of summer days back at Hideout Festival in Croatia and all the summer fun that is yet to come. I love music that does that to you. I’m desperate to go and see Wilkinson live now – having caught Clean Bandit supporting Basement Jaxx in December – amazing performance and right before they made it big! I’ve just spotted Wilkinson are playing Cambridge Junction next month so I may have to see if I can get along to see them. I wish they would play Norwich instead though, it is a much better venue for dance music gigs, while Cambridge is better for more acoustic performers.

Who are you listening to on repeat at the moment? And what are your favourite live music venues?

Natty Beatts – Come Outside

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for the newspaper about a Norwich-based singer/rapper who had filmed her latest music video at Ringstead with a Hunstanton-based production team. Well the finished product has now been released and here it is. I’ll be honest, I’m not overwhelmed by the quality of the music video or the concept and personally expected more from it, but I love the song and Natty Beatt’s voice.

The article doesn’t focus much on Natty partly because I couldn’t get hold of her before we went to press and partly because she was based in Norwich, which is outside our patch. But, looking into her via Facebook, Twitter etc, she is a very interesting person. She’s a rapper and singer, who has helped create a rap battle competition that runs in the city, she also models, will be starring in a Great Yarmouth pantomime, works as a body coach and does other health related work. A busy girl! But sure seems like lots of fun from her posts.

Nice to write about and find some home-grown talent that actually caters for my type of music. So many of the Norfolk acts that I come across have more of a folky/rock sound, which is nice, but personally I prefer something I can dance to with a drum and bass edge.

What do you think of the song?