Back in November 2017 I featured Pockets, the debut single from Leicester based 5-piece Easy Life, which was released through boutique label Chess Club. The first time I heard the song it was a must feature, it sounded so smoothly different to everything else out there. Now a year on, with the band having inked a deal with Island, I’m featuring them on my Ones to Watch list for 2019; and they’re still carving their own groove. Taking elements of jazz, soul, indie and hip-hop Easy Life make music that suits their name. Easy Life are chill. But not in a lazy way. Because Easy Life make cleverly constructed pop songs. They’ve got hooks, they’ve got vibes a plenty and when you listen, before you know it, you’ll find yourself nodding your head, closing your eyes and immersing yourself in a sound that bears very little resemblance to the place Easy Life come from. If anything, the sound of Easy Life is a road trip with the roof off along the highways of West Coast America. Having played the likes of Great Escape, Live At Leeds, Dot to Dot and Reading Festival last year, as well as their own headlining tour, Easy Life’s trajectory seems to be going in one direction only, and that’s upwards. If they can match the likes of Nightmares and Pockets in 2019 it will be a very good year for them and us. Easy Life - Pockets
Leicester (a town that apparently many Americans struggle to pronounce - it's just Less-Ter OK?) has a rather limited musical heritage. Kasabian. Showaddywaddy. Er…. that's about it. But that could all change soon; we could be adding a third name to the list. On Twitter they describe themselves as 'your favourite Westlife covers band', but don’t let that put you off. Their name is Easy Life. You might remember Easy Life from November 2017 when the casual downbeat swell of their debut single Pockets found a place on Breaking More Waves in an introducing piece. Since that time they’ve been bubbling along quite nicely with a number of releases and shows. I finally caught them live at this year’s Great Escape Festival where they managed, in my head at least, to take me on a road trip down the west coast of the USA with the roof down. Now the bubbles aren’t just floating along nicely - they’re rising to the surface – with a new tune for insomniacs everywhere. It’s called Nightmares. “Forty winks would be priceless,” croons lead vocalist Murray and despite the odd bit of swearing in the song you’ll be charmed. There's a lazy-limbed lolloping beat, some warped grooves and some jazzy sax toots. Nightmares stands out as being that little bit different from any other pop music around at the moment. It’s super hooky as well. All being well it will give them a moment in the sun and maybe some more after that. Pockets was very good but this is even better. Listen to Easy Life often and they will improve your life. Leicester for the win. Easy Life are out on tour in November in the UK. Go and see them. Easy Life - Nightmares
Brighton’s Great Escape is by far and away the UK’s largest new music, multi-venue, wristband access festival. It’s an event I’ve been attending since this blog started nearly 10 years ago (and even before that) and have seen it grown from relatively small beginnings to the near monster it has become now. If you want some tips on how best to tackle the festival, get the most out of it and to survive it in one piece, read this piece by clicking on the link The Great Escape: Practical Tips For Music Nerds from 2017. As the Great Escape is so big (there’s over 400 artists playing over 3 days) it can seem somewhat overwhelming. Every person who goes will have a completely different experience – it’s very easy for people that have even relatively similar music tastes to yours to see totally different artists over the three days. So if you haven’t done your homework (there’s a Spotify playlist that you can find by clicking here that contains 95% of the artists playing) let me provide you with just a small handful of recommendations of artists that may well be worth your time. G-Flip (Australia) Beach Club 5.30pm Thursday Beach House 3.30pm Saturday G-Flip is exactly the sort of artist I want to see at Great Escape. First because she’s incredibly new, with just one single release to her name, secondly because the reports I saw of her performances at SXSW Festival, Austin, Texas were very encouraging and thirdly because she’s from the other side of the world – which is what Great Escape does so much better than every other new music festival in the UK – bringing in artists from across the globe. For 2018 Australia is setting the bar in terms of exciting new artists at Great Escape with a very strong contingent of artists across the board. Introduced on the blog just last month, G Flip’s name makes her sound like a rapper or grime artist, but her debut track, About You is actually a rather perfect pop song created from a looped rumbling dark electronic drone, a drum pattern and Georgia Flipo’s pristine vocal. As yet I’ve no idea if her other songs will match up to About You, but Great Escape will be an opportunity to find out.
Hatchie (Australia) Komedia 12.50pm Thursday Horatios 13.00pm Friday The Arch 6.00pm Friday My second recommendation is also from Australia. Hatchie has already picked up a lot of on line support including from Breaking More Waves. Hatchie is the world of Harriette Pilbeam and her music recaptures some of the spirit and sound of late 80’s / early 90’s ethereal indie bands such as The Sundays and The Cocteau Twins (Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins has even remixed her song Sure). A more recent modern comparison would probably be another Breaking More Waves favourite Hazel English, who according to Spotify is a related artist in terms of audience listenership. If you like your indie pop dreamy, fuzzy and celestial Hatchie could be for you.
Flohio (United Kingdom) East Wing (Brighton Centre) 6.15pm Thursday Komedia Studio Bar 3.30pm Saturday Shooshh 9.30pm Saturday Funmi Ohio, better known as Flohio is a South London MC who has already gained endorsements from the likes of Pitchfork, Noisey, The Fader, The Guardian and earlier this year was selected by Naomi Campbell for Vogue as one of the 10 Women Changing Our Future. She was also runner up in last year's Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition. With a delivery style that carries a certain rawness and an undiluted energy her tracks such as new single Watchout and previous track Bands mix elements of trap, techno and grime, all laid out with scissor sharp precision. Having already supported the likes of Princess Nokia, Clams Casino and Mura Masa, Flohio is a rapper on the rise.
Hatis Noit (Japan) St Mary’s Church 7.00pm Thursday Great Escape can serve as many things for many people. Some like to chase the latest buzz bands. Some like to catch all the latest new acts from a particular type of genre. But one thing I love about it is that over the three days there’s the opportunity to watch new artists who don’t really fit any simple classification. Hatis Noit is one such artist. In fact of the 400+ artists playing Great Escape, I’d go as far as describing Hatis Noit as utterly unique. Originally from Shiretoko in Japan but now residing in London, Hatis Noit creates music based almost entirely around her voice, a voice that in a previous post I described as operatic, alien, monastic and earthily primal. Her work is abstract, experimental and from the leftfield embracing elements of modern technology, ambient, Western Classical and Japanese Folk. It’s also utterly absorbing. She’s playing just one show, in a church, which should give her music an added sense of otherworldliness.
Easy Life Komedia Studio Bar 12.15am Friday The Haunt 6.30pm Saturday First introduced on Breaking More Waves in November 2017, Easy Life shaped a place all of their own with debut single Pockets – a laid back anthem of modern consumption. An indie band of sorts, their reference points are far wider. Pockets has a neat brass riff, a wash of soul and a groove. That groove is even more present on their song Siverado, a track that sounds far removed from their Leicester home. With dates at Dot to Dot Festival, Barn On The Farm and Reading / Leeds all confirmed, Brighton is the next stop for Easy Life. See you there?
Here’s a little warning for you. Having listened to the casual downbeat grooves of Leicester’s Easy Life and their debut single Pockets, do not go on to Spotify (other streaming services are available) type their name and then play the songs I’m Fading Away, 21, Light Me Up or I’ll Leave You Behind. Same band name, very different sound and band. Your ears may bleed if you do. However, if rather than having to endure that pain you’d rather have them coated in something akin to fur trimmed ear muffs - music that is warmer, smoother and altogether more pleasant - then do listen to Pockets. A modern-day commentary on over consumption, material greed, excess and questioning the way they’re used in society to over compensate and anaesthetize for what’s missing - it’s a jam and then some. It reminds me a little of a late night, soulful version of Jamie T. Unsurprisingly the release comes via Chess Club records who now have a 10-year history in seeking out a widely eclectic mix of brilliantly fresh and eclectic music. Pockets certainly meets those criteria. A brassy, effortlessly cool debut that stands out from the crowd. Easy Life - Pockets
