Regular readers of this here stop in the blogosphere, will know that the ESP name is synonymous with supportingexceptional newtalents, and providing an equalplatform for you to discover them alongside those who are more established. So when I learned that some special friends of mine were vying for the title of MTV's Brand New Unsigned Act for 2014 - Presented by Emporio Armani, the competitionresponsible for catapulting the likes of Lady Gaga, Tinie Tempah, Justin Bieber, and Adele to International stardom; well it was only fair that I spread the word on both, and ask you, my social media comrades, to spare a few moments of your voting time to help them both get one step closer to the finish line. Both familiar names on the ESP blog, it will only take a moment for me to reintroduce you...
First up, Drassick is a North London MC with a flair for the current. With an unwavering Grime style that is at once charming and dynamic; don't be fooled into thinking this laidback, fashion-friendly, RnB Pretty Boy, is one to be ignored. The kinetic energy of his Hip Hop lyrics belie his calm, unassuming delivery. Unrestricted by the confines of any one genre - he has the capacity to do them all (and much better spelling and grammatical abilities than the in-house author of his MTV Profile, whom I believe is still 'out to lunch'...) - Drassick remains a stealth contender for the Top Spot.
Get to know the hazel-eyed boy better in this Once Upon A Time#FindOutFriday interview with Yours Truly, before visiting his website and getting connected. For a snapshot of Drassick DIGITAL at his finest, you're most welcome to give his 'Best Of' playlist a whirl:
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Meet BEATNIK
When 'People Start Talking', they're most likely buzzing about BEATNIK - the hottest new Songwriting / Production team from this humble part of the globe, with one formidable twist - they also happen to be siblings! Whether you realise it or not, you're already familiar with this primo pair. Nikki and Statis have been making you move in your bedrooms, and on the dancefloor, for severalyears now! You can even hear their track 'It Came From London' on the ESP Website. Their signature electronic undertone is evident in every genre they play, because they have worked with so many of the best in the Music game. From the grimiestHip Hop, to the rawestDancehall, to the most syncopatedDrum & Bass - Nikki and Statis Beatnik have that 'Good Music Formula' on lock...
Being my favourite DJs, I can personally attest to them leaving me hobbling for many a dayafter one of their Deck vs. Deck performance sets (Ladies - wearflats, just...trust me on this one; when they start taking you round the world and through the eras, heels are an added weakness against these mercilessDJ Spartans). Their individual CVs are prestigious and long, with many an A-lister to call on for corner-cutting assistance if they so chose. Being the honest, relatable pair that they are however; rather than call on those big names to make the ride that little bit smoother, they are embarking on this new, joint phase all on their own, startingagain from the bottom up, by building on the vast support network of admirers that they have worked so hard to earn over their illustrious careers.
Get to know Nikki and Statis better, by connectingwith them via the BEATNIK website. All three are not only supremelytalented and deserving of the opportunity, but also some of the nicest people you will ever meet, so I'm taking this opportunity to crown myself their Resident Cheerleader, and wish them both the best! Whichever you choose, voting closes in thirteendays time, on the 18 November - visit the MTV website for more information, Terms & Conditions. There's nothing more for me to say, beyond GET VOTING (and thank you kindlyon their behalf)!!! Until the next... ES ;)
"Where do you get all your energy from Woman - or should I say Superwoman!"
That was what Drassick DIGITAL said to me this morning, as I (over)indulged in one of my favourite guilty pastimes - the #nowplaying Twitter trend.
I listen to music 24 hours a day - even during sleep! I have playlists for everyhuman scenario; the titles of which match the tin label in a way unique to me... 'Easy Like Sunday Mornin...' (Relaxation), 'D.I.V.A' and 'Showstoppin' (Confidence Boosts), 'Heartbreak Hotel' (you can figure that one out); 'Workin' Day and Nite' (Work Mode) 'Work It Out' (Gym Fuel); yes they are all song titles, and yes there are many more (179 at last count). So it should come as no surprise that I need to start the day with the right mood music, or don'texpect me to get out of bed!
That takes me on to today's theme in the 'Understanding' portion of #MarchMusic Month. How do you decide what you want to listen to? Is it based on 'What's Hot' right now? The new release from a favourite artist? Or is it based on your mood at that particulargiven moment? With most of us, it's likely to be a mixture of all three, with the real variance being in the time percentage.
If we're talking the latter, then the mood in the music that we listen to, affects us at a speed too fast for us to recognise (the brain can recognise the emotional state in any given song as quickly as 500 milliseconds - Dr Victoria Williamson). Now I don't know about you; but come those waking hours, you need to blastme with something that says 'GET UP AND GET GOING' if you want me to 'go' anywhere! Being that I'm a Night Owl who starts her working day at 6AM, it's no great surprise that my days begin with me dragging myself off my mattress by my own precious hair roots. It's usually at different points within my 'It's Mownin Time!' playlist, and often the point at which my brainwakes up is long after I've actually been ripped from my bedwomb.
In today's case, the track that inspired the Facebook status Drassick commented on, was 'Use It Up And Wear It Out' by 70sDisco group Odyssey...
That's energy and a half, right?! You see why it got me going? Now, I may not have actually inhabited the Earth when this came out; but when you grow up with groups of this era being played around you constantly, who were synonymous with your Mum getting her gladrags on to head West to Crackers Nightclub of a Saturday night - when the energy of the song is equally matched by that of the memory associated with it...Does when it came outreallymatter? But that's a wholeother topic we'll be looking at between now and Thursday... What did the job for you this morning? Post your 'Wake Up Song' in the Comment Box below - it's lost without you in a style very 'a la Robin Thicke'! In the meantime, there's the small matter of thatcompetition! Want to winFREESocial Media Catalogue management from Yours Truly? Then you should read on... If you're a regular, then you'll know that I ran a 3-part special based around my first London Fashion Week outing, recently. The second to showcase in the four major fashion capitals of the world; LFW was preceded by a city whose 'Natives' just so happen to make up part of another massive hit by Odyssey - Name That Tune!
The answer to Friday's competition, where I asked you to name the song / film, singer and lead actors of the massivefilm that matched a song title in this picture:
The song / film is of course -
'When A Man Loves A Woman'
The Singer was Percy Sledge
And the film's lead actors were Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia - they make me cry everytime!
CongratulationstoFriday's winner! Instead of ONE winner today, I'll be selecting THREE, to make up for the chances my super busy weekend cost you! Remember that entries are accepted via email ONLY - NO tweeting me the answer please, you won'twin that way! 20:13 is the deadline - Get Entering! Until the next! ES ;)
Competition Terms & Conditions: Only one entry per person, per day. Prize applies to the 'ESPshowcase - Lights' package, and thus Twitter and Facebook accounts only. Prize offer relates to either a ONE Facebook OR ONE Twitter account only. Entry deadline is 20:13 each day, winners will be notified via email within 24 hours.
Now if you ask lil young me, the best love songs are the ones composed with that special someone in mind. Whether a sensitive crooner, or the hardest rapper out there, when it comes to affairs of the heart, what you wear on your sleevenever goes out of fashion.
It's been almost a year since Drassick popped The Question under Tokyo's city lights. It was always going to be a tad hard to top that come tomorrow, so telling the world about your continued adoration ever since in 'Good Life' was never going to be a bad way to start. With the help of Stirra on vocals, this 'celebration of us, we've made it this far' moment is perfect for the lover's occasion. Will you collectively "Awww!" with me please?
'Just For You' features Noble and Charley Healey. A declaration of love from both MCs, wrapped in the big red bow that is Healey's infectious hook; both guys successfully manage to deliver this ode to lovewithout losing manly credibility - quite the opposite in fact. The perfect blend of what every woman wants, a protector who's grown enough to show a sensitive side that's reserved just for her, this is the kind of contemporary track that should be owningradio right now. My personal fave of the bunch.
'Let This Go' comes courtesy of group 1ofEach; otherwise known as Stretch and CP (or Drassick's little brother in that latter case - gotta love a family affair). Produced by Morfius, the premise of this one is that it's not all about hearts and flowers, there are rough times that love can't always overcome, especially when one is more infatuated than the other. Whilst the intention to present new artists is a good and commendable one, this track would be better suited to the follow up project, as it's theme is not in keeping with the mini-EP's goal, thus confusing the overall message of the project.
A very good return to form after a brief hiatus; 'L' is mostly successful in setting out clear intentions. The only way this could have been bettered (aside from the exclusion / replacement of that last track) would have been a solo effort to cap the entire set. Apart from that, well done Drassick - earned yourself a B+.
7: Lekhem provided some SoulstramentalLove in the shape of the massive 'Grandeur Pulse'. 12 tracks of throbbing Hip-Hop Soul, it's a "bit of a sexy tape" In. Deed...
6: Wynter Gordon's Sade-like, Trip-Hop sensuality took heat to the MAX and gave new meaning to all of our bodily reactions with 'Human Condition: Doleo'...
5: Married couple with the mostest, Malice and Mario Sweet paid tribute to one another in pure Bossa Nova, NeoSoulstyle and devotion with 'Happy 2 Year'...
You'll just have to come on back tomorrow to see who's rounding off the '7 Days, 7 Mixtapes To Set The Valentine Mood' selection! It's all about the ladies tomorrow (Fellas - I'll get you next year!) With a mixtape reviewANDInterview to wrap the series up nicely! My ONLY hint Girls, is that I'm keeping it UKHOT.
You may recall some behind the scenes stills from Drassick DIGITAL'S video shoot with with Stirra, Bizzi, Solo Flips, Panic Phaze and Modulation for the C-Dot production 'Steam Roller'.
Released earlier today, the collaboration is set to be yet another Underground favourite as soon it hits the airwaves! Enjoy the video here and feel free to share!
As the literal world is now aware, BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra put on the London Borough of Hackney's biggest ever event on the 23rd and 24th June.
100 Artists and DJs performed for 100,000 people across both days, at an especially adapted festival site hitherto only graced by football and cricket teams on 6 of their 89 green pitches of, well, mud...
A complete festival novice (I saw the Jimi Hendrix Story once and there was a Woodstock scene...but that's really about it); my sole preparation consisted of heavy duty Snow boots in lieu of Wellingtons I have not owned since I was about 3. Multiple layers to combat the cold I do not do; copious amounts of tissues and antibacterial hand gel (rows upon rows of portaloos - 600+ I do believe - need I say more?!).
Arriving just after 9AM, with a 4-hour wait across each of the 5 queue points from the box office to final security check, my goal of the day was to survive until headliner Jay Z; sustaining my musical appetite on vocal delights from the likes of Leona Lewis, Delilah, Jessie Ware and a little bit of Rita Ora. I was even willing to endure a certain dark-hued, (currently) blonde 'Barb' for one Drassick DIGITAL, since the sojournwas for his birthday treat, after all.
One can only assume the BBC felt justified in charging £7 per programme because the event tickets were free + postage (which also relied on your receiving your tickets in the post, which I did not). Unfortunately for them, very few people agreed and the broadcasters opened themselves up to the obvious - attendees taking pictures of the programme on their phones / cameras and using those to navigate between the line ups on all six stages.
Having missed Jessie (Ware) and Rita by the time we were fed and watered; Leona was already underway, having opened on the main stage. I will say Bless the Beeb for the big screens because without them, you were purely looking at moving dots on stages big enough to have been mistaken for small cities (Amazing design feats; if you can get to view the story of the build please do, as the team who erected them all deserve a huge amount of recognition). It wasn't until Leona was halfway through 'Bleeding Love' that my naked eye actually caught sight of her flapping wrap in the wind...
To the 'In New Music We Trust' stage for a double next - top of the BBC's 'Sound of 2012' list, Michael Kiwanuka, followed by one of my personal list toppers, Delilah. A very mellow and soothing set, Kiwanuka made me long for a bath with candles, rose petals and wine. It wasn't hard to see why he willbe filling many a venue for some time to come.
My first time seeing Delilah live, I was ecstatic that her vocals proved even better than recordings (don't you love it when that happens? It's the mark of a trueArtist, in my opinion). The gorgeous temptress lived up to her name, heating the freezing tent right up with her fashion. The only thing missing was a touch of Deer Oh Deer Ltd. from our Carnivale line (note to self - get in touch)! Sultry down to the super-sexy, skyscraper boots we heard tell of before she took the stage, Delilah's stage presence was mesmerising, while still managing to emote a down-to-earth air. She impressed me further by repeatedly making direct eye contact and smiling, as if she were chatting with an old friend, not performing for a few thousand people, not to mention the millions watching at home. Engaging from start to finish, as a pure acoustic performer, Delilah delivered my favourite set of the day...
Off to the '1Xtra' stage for Mr. 'Steal Your Girl', it was at this point that the long set changes started to get a tad painful. The delay at the start of Trey Songz' set was irritating because it took two days and our favourite DJRonnie Herel's Monday Night Specialist Surgery; for the reason to come to light. Apparently a massive PA system failure occurred twice; but a fairly obvious risk management scenario didn't seem to occur to the organising team: what will we do if the sound system goes down and we get a tent full of a good few thousand overheated females, pushing, shoving and ready to scratch out eyeballs to get ONE inch closer to the stage. I saw a number lose the ability to stand before Songz even came on. Instead, there was a problem and the staff wrongly said nothing. This was the first of a few of these incidents throughout the day and it was unfortunate that all were handled in the same fashion - by saying nothing. But we'll revisit what the organisers should take away from this later...
So back to Trey who performed a very good vocal set if you ignored the trademark "Yeauhs" (I'm sorry - to each her own, it just didn't cut it for me). A good tracklist despite containing few of the tracks I actually like him for ('Hatin Love', 'In The Middle' to name a few); vocally, I thought he delivered very well. The only other annoyance was the knowledge that Nicki Minaj was on the grounds, but did not join him for their collaborative track 'Bottoms Up'.
Not being one to lose my mind for no good reason; I wasn't just in the non-swooning minority, I was an outright hostile alien apparently - a lesson learned when I was nearly trampled to death over Songz' t-shirt, freshly torn from his sweaty body (that I highly suspected of being doused with extra glitter shine), and lobbed into the middle section of senseless females, absolutely nowhere near the illogical ones surrounding me...
Exiting stage right, you only understood the frenzy left behind in the tented arena, when you got outside of it and experienced the immediate temperature drop. Seriously Ladies, CALM DOWN around the man! If I were in the path of a herd of stampeding bulls, I would have been in less danger...
Escaping to the much safer main stage for Ed Sheeran, he was well underway because the Trey set ran so far behind. A bit far out, I waited until the end of his always brilliant set to try to get in a bit closer to the stage, but already, it was overpacked in the vast expanse set aside. The only thing missing from his performance for me, was the mindblowing Lil' Kim mash up that I saw him do during a set last November. Beyond that, we all know that Ed's delivery is Grade A, with a few Platinum +'s...
Nicki Minaj next, the wait after the set build seemed interminable, which I blamed on 'Barb's' personal primping and preening...until I checked the setlist again and realised just how ridiculous the changeover times were! It was clear that those setting the schedule really weren't thinking about the people who came from the start. Obviously adequate build times need to be alloted; as an event organiser, I fully understand and appreciate the need to ensure precision and safety. However from 6:15 when Ed finished, to Minaj's scheduled time of 6:45 (it was almost another 15 minutes before she took the stage); the additional increments until the full ONE HOUR wait for Jay Z even began, were just far too tedious.
Her set was as expected and I will not deny my willingness (nor active Prayer) to meet a trampled end when 'Starships' came on; but my irritation was only exacerbated when she ran through her verse on Trey Songz' 'Bottoms Up', not too long after we saw backstage footage of him, a few feet from her, in the Entertainer's Village. Earlier, I assumed that maybe Minaj hadn't arrived yet for his set or was still getting ready, but knowing they were both stage ready and in the same place? It made absolutely NO sense as to why that didn't happen...
Over 50 minutes from Nicki's set close, Kasabian took their turn. Completely unfamiliar with more than their name, I enjoyed their set and their singalong camaraderie with their audience:
Now pouring with rain in a grave 'Frère Jacques' understatement; there was nothing to be done but grit your teeth and bear the rain. Also later much than his 9:50stage time, even moany I could not deny the sheer electricity that went through the entire festival site when the doors opened and Jigga and the unexpected RiRi took the stage. You actually felt the air change...
Later surprise guests included MIA - who took over 5 minutes to realise that there was (thankfully) no sound coming through her mic and Kanye West who (regretfully), suffered the same ill on more than one occasion. I did not pretend to hide my amusement at the complaint overheard, from someone who's overly meaty arm left me bruises that have yet to go down...Speaking of Kanye's 30-minute appearance for a condensed 'Watch The Throne' set; he cried "I paid Sixty f**king quid for this!" to his equally annoyed friends...
Apart from the assault and battery (by MIA's vocals as well as the 'moshers'), JayZ'sset was absolutely a+mazing. From 'Watch The Throne' to many of my early favourites going back to the 'Reasonable Doubt' days - which I personally prefer, those 68 minutes are officially cemented as a Once in a Lifetime experience.
Once Jay and Kanye left the stage, I have to say that I was very shocked at the handling and direction of transport services away from the site - and I really don't live that far away. Again, the lack of proper preparation and communication from the BBC, Hackney Council and the Met Police, meant that I ended up as one of far too many, stranded and trying to get home, until just before 3AM. Bear in mind the event finished shortly after 11PM. The majority of the so-called Security staff in the shuttle bus / pre-booked pick up / cab point, spent the entire time doing little more than herding cattle in the rain, until they themselves ALL piled into people carriers and left a very long queue stretching out of the carpark, to fend for themselves a good hour before I managed to get on my way. I found that part of the whole experience quite scary and disturbing and would never expect those kind of circumstances at an event connected with theBBC.
If you attended either day, let me know your thoughts on the Hackney Weekender in the comments box below - particularly if you were one of my strandees!
One of the staple things that I work on with each of the brands within the ESP Family, is building a solid foundationnetwork for all of you lovely readers; so that you can access all of the latest information and content that we produce. Using most of these sites daily, I'm fairly confident in the use of them; but in bringing my own catalogue up to date and looking at ways to expand over the past few weeks, I was surprised at how little helpful advice exists in what you would think were the most obvious of places!
So this week, with the help of my own personal Web & Graphic Design Superheroine - better known to you all as the lovely Charli-Anne (have another read of her #FindOutFriday if you need reminding of her never-ending super powers...I mean multi-talents); we're going to look at what a Social Media Catalogue actually is, how you can create your own and finally how to use relevantSocial Media to your advantage. By no means are we claiming our methods to be the best, we're just going to share a few of the tidbits that have gotten Us the biggest response from You...Shall we get started?
All of these and many, many more, are the Medium that most of us use to keep up with the latest from our friends, family, people and topics of interest. Twitter didn't settle on the term 'Trend' for nothing; it's the shorter, more effective (and less annoying) equivalent of a Hilton-esque, "That's Hot" Seal of Approval. Whether for personal or professional use, most of us have built ourselves a catalogue. With the added ability of direct interaction, that's when online storage becomes our own Social Network.
Now this is the point where I take my technophobic Mother and make her my muse - see? You DO inspire me...What if you now understand what a Social Media Catalogue IS, you want to start building your own, but don't know how to go about prettying it up and avoiding the dreaded Spam Trap? Read on Class, this is the Tony Hart vs. Blue Peter in 4D part. Or for you non-80's Babies of the BBC-era; here's where the Expert takes over...
Charli-Anne's Cyber Creative Corner
Ever wondered how you can make your Social Media profiles say WOW? Well when it comes to graphics, there are ways to do this well and ways to do it badly! Read on to find out how to avoid the classic mistakes and follow some simple tips to create your own slick graphics!
The Avatar - and we don't mean the blue thingies...
This is a graphical representation of YOU, The User. It is usually square in shape, no bigger than 150 pixels squared and used as the thumbnail (miniature)image for your profiles. This could be a photograph of yourself or if you are a business, you could use this tiny graphic in a number of ways:
The Logo - Simply shrink down your logo to fit in the box
The 'Alt' Logo - This is far more effective in my opinion, as most logos distort and become illegible when shrunk down. Your 'Alt' logo needs to be a bite-size version of your actual logo, so it's important to stick to the same fonts and colours.
The Random Image - You could use an image of one of your products or something that represents you, or what you are currently promoting. But remember - the less detail in the image, the better!
TOP TIP! When using a photo, create a great graphic by focusing in on one small, but interesting square of the image and crop it for your avatar!
Photoshop Tidbit: To do this, create an Avatar template file (.jpg or .png), by making a blank square of the correct dimensions (851 x 315 pixels for Facebook, 1040 x 180 for Google Plus, etc.) and saving it. Then simply open it in Photoshop and drag and drop the image you want to use straight into it! You can then just move it around and resize it within the squareto see what looks best as an Avatar.
The Facebook Timeline 'Cover' - For Girls, Boys AND Brands...
This is the image that appears
at the top of the new FB Timeline pages for both personal and business
profiles. There are some very strict
rules around the use of this area and what you can display, so make sure you
are following all of them! Basically they are:
Don't despair though! You can still use the cover as a great showcase. You could keep it simple with a product snap; or go all out and create an image incorporating text, photographs and graphic elements, without breaking any of the rules - just think creatively! ;)
TOP TIP! Take a funny snap of yourself pointing up and use that as your Avatar! This will not only make people laugh, but it will let people know that you want them to look at your 'Cover' image above!
Photoshop Tidbit: Create a brightly coloured square and place it in the area where your Avatar will overlap, so that you can see how it will look on your page. Make sure you keep the square as the top 'Layer' and you might want to make it slightly translucent using the 'Opacity' slider, so that you can see what you are doing in other layers.
The Wallpaper Background - you won't find these in B&Q...
Twitter, YouTube, MySpace and Tumblr are all good examples of sites that encourage you to fully customise your profile / home page. The best aspect of this is that you can upload your own background image so really, the Sky is the limit! They all have different size specifications and upload size limitations (try 1350 x 605 for Twitter, but you will have to tweak for the new 'Let's Fly' update; file size is maximum 800kb), but you could create one great branded image that can be adapted for use across all sites (with a bit more tweaking)!
Familiarise yourself with the areas of a background that are visible and not obscured by a text box, video or image. Use those areas to place images and text. Keeptextto a minimum! Just a couple of links and a quote is more than good enough ;)
TOP TIP! Don't be afraid to 'Crop'! Avoid 'stretching' images to fit; it looks much more professional to have images in the correct dimensions, even if you can only see part of them!
Photoshop Tidbit: If your background image doesn't 'fit' the dimensions of your wallpaper, hit the 'Shift' key while you resize it, to stop it from stretching.
In conclusion I would say, if you can afford a Graphic Designer, use one, but ShopAround! You don't always get what you pay for. Equally, don't just go for the cheapest deal! A logo for £20 is NOT going to fully meet your needs, or be bespoke in any way. Look at examples of their work first; give them your deadline before they start and make sure there are no hidden costs!
If you can't afford to pay someone professional, it IS totally possible for you to use simple imagery effectively. If you fancy dabbling in the world of Photoshop but have always been too scared...don't be! There are some great tutorials on the net and you only need to know the basics to create a perfectly good graphic. Just keep it simple, avoid tacky comedy fonts and text effects (these take practice to get right), follow the 'Crop' TOP TIP and you will be good to go!
There is a Graphic Designer in all of us...just remember, less is more!
So now you know what it is, you know how to make it look A+MAZING; the last thing you want to do, is put all your hard work to waste, by placing it in the wrong professional arena...
Share and Share a(nd) LIKE...
Don't just assume that by sticking to one site, you are automatically reaching the biggest and best audience. The Rise of YouTube is doing absolute wonders for Musicians, but the big sites have made it possible for you to integrate your accounts, to match a growing demand. That does not mean you should saturate the net with your content; because you then run the risk of annoying cross-audiences into ignoring you and all your hard work. Don't forget, there is such a thing as a 'trickle effect'! Once your work is out there, your audience will help you share it and Word of Other Mouths have a much greater effect than your own!
Control your distribution by putting it out in the Top 5 sites, but then look for the targeted websites that specialise in what you do. For Kawaii and Vintage-inspired fashion label Deer Oh Deer Ltd., Charli-Anne and I often target Vintage Fashion bloggers and the Japanese Kawaii market.
Lastly; there's no better Social Media base than your own website. Often, musicians don't have the means or ability to get their own together right away. Prior to the launch of LekLanelast October; Lekhem and I used his ReverbNation account to it's fullest capacity as, for an indie artist-based website, it covered absolutely every aspect that we needed to present, while we began building his foundation and encouraged the customisation that Charli-Anne spoke of earlier.
And there you have it for this week! Huge thanks to super-talented Expert, our very own Charli-Anne; I don't know about you, but I've got some updates to make! For more of her a+mazing creations, connect with her works and services through the Jelli Ltd. Social Media Catalogue!
Regular readers of this here stop in the blogosphere, will know that the ESP name is synonymous with supporting exceptional new talents, and providing an equal platform for you to discover them alongside those who are more established. So when I learned that some special friends of mine were vying for the title of MTV's Brand New Unsigned Act for 2014 - Presented by Emporio Armani, the competition responsible for catapulting the likes of Lady Gaga, Tinie Tempah, Justin Bieber, and Adele to International stardom; well it was only fair that I spread the word on both, and ask you, my social media comrades, to spare a few moments of your voting time to help them both get one step closer to the finish line. Both familiar names on the ESP blog, it will only take a moment for me to reintroduce you...
