For the first year ever, LCoM is heading to Brighton’s Alternative Great Escape, to present a showcase of new and exciting artists. Five of our recent alumni have been selected to play at the festival, which takes place from 9 – 11 May across the city.
The Great Escape is renowned as one of the UK’s top festivals for new music, showcasing hundreds of emerging artists each year. The festival is well attended by the music industry, on the hunt for the next big thing - so we are delighted to present our alumni on this fantastic platform.
Our showcase takes place at Door 77 from 12pm – 4pm on Thursday 9 May, and features:
Talkboy
Leeds-based, six-piece Talkboy combine their playful indie rock with captivating melodies and layers of vocal harmonies, shifting between euphoric walls of noise and intimately sweet soundscapes.
Drawing immediate comparisons to the likes of The Big Moon, Arcade Fire and Alvvays, the sextet have already delivered stellar performances at Live at Leeds and Gold Sounds Festival, as well as a sold-out BBC Introducing showcase (curated by Abbie McCarthy) and notable support slots for Our Girl, Another Sky and The Academic.
Talkboy is Katie Heap (vocals), Calum Juniper (vocals), Tim Malkin (guitar), Charlotte Jones (keys), Tom Sargent (bass), Jake Greenway (drums).
More about Talkboy
Vaughan
Vaughan is the pseudonym of Thomas Harvey, an English singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose coalescence of alt-pop and electronic sounds have been compared to the likes of Banks, Lorde and Ry X.
Vaughan is leading up to release his highly anticipated first single ‘I AM’ - mixed by Cameron Gower Poole (Major Lazer) and co-produced by himself and Ryan Phillips (Imhotep Studio) - which describes an internal narrative of hedonism, anxiety and self-discovery. The single’s video was shot by HiLow Films (Shura, Nike), and brings to life Vaughan’s struggle with sexual-repression and the shame he felt growing up queer.
Vaughan has been writing music since the age of 11, working with the likes of BMI, Universal and Sony ATV, and writing across a variety of genres including rock, soul, dance and electronic music. Vaughan was also a finalist in the top ten of the Listen Up Songwriters Festival 2018, and has played a range of showcase festivals including Liverpool Sound City & Dublin’s You Bloom.
More about VaughanCombining chaotic heavy riffs with a swirling psychedelic edge, the psychgrunge, three-piece Brooders are an experience you won’t soon forget.
Having found their feet the traditional way, Brooders have gigged and toured the UK relentlessly for the last two years, testing the waters with an endless stream of musical exploration and rigorous song craft. To date, Brooders have covered the land with their loud melodic barrage of psych. They have played Sound City, Y Not, Dot To Dot, Tramlines, Humber Street Sesh and countless more live shows up and down the country.
Brooders have released a six track mini album and five additional singles over their time as a band. In the last year alone, Brooders have also been championed by BBC Introducing Yorkshire/Sheffield, Amazing Radio, Sine FM and YO Radio, on their quest to deliver their sonic whiplash far and wide.
Brooders is Adam Bairstow (guitar/vocals), Adam Speare (bass) and Liam Naylor (drums).
More about BroodersPEAKES makes loneliness feel like the most seductive experience in the world. A group of true outsiders, the Leeds based three-piece construct vivid alt-pop hymns. Their precocious musicality matches ambient electronics – think Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, surging melodics, and a divine sense of sound.
Vocalist Molly Puckering is a postwoman by day, making her solitary rounds in a city that was never intended to be home. She is the lone voice up front, with searing, personal vocals channelling a rare degree of emotion. With beautifully balanced electronics from Maxwell Shirley and expertly controlled drumming from Pete Redshaw, the band become a self-contained pop unit divorced from the outside world.
More about PEAKESFreya Roy is a Norwich-based neo-soul/jazz artist, producer and label owner. Freya is about to release her debut album AHLKE, which has received high praise from Foundation FM; BBC Introducing, top blogger Somewhere Soul and Blues Matters Magazine. She will release the album on her own independent label FCR music, which she founded in 2012 to help change the perception and visibility of women and minorities in the creative industries.
Freya crowd-funded over £1000 to help launch AHLKE, and is one of the talented artists to receive support and round two funding from the MOBOs Help Musicians Fund. Her debut single 'Midnight Train’, which features Submotion Orchestra's Simon Beddoe on Flugel Horn, is an enchanting journey through a landscape of shimmering neo-soul, hip-hop and jazz, that first came to life during Freya's time spent in the thriving Leeds jazz scene.
In a live setting, Freya seeks to create a tranquil experience with the help of her band members, accompanying her jazz guitar playing and smooth, soulful vocals.
More about Freya Roy
