Hotels are now sticking their nose in the music business. You heard it right. In fact, the experiment is already on its way with the first artist signing. The Marriott owned W Hotel Records signed R&B singer-songwriter Amber Mark. The first release by Mark is a Kings Go Forth’s “High On Your Love”. The Hotel chain noted it will sign 4 artists in the coming year. Unlike Starbucks which launched a now defunct record label in 2007, the Marriott backed music label will provide the artist with recording space, video shoot locations, distribution, streaming services and even vinyl production. How will W Records attract artists? They’ll get exposure to the million members of Marriott’s global rewards programs says the Hotel Chain. We’ll follow the new signings and keep an eye on the impact.

Indie pop trio Caezar releases the radio ready Hold On. Upon hearing the track, I was instantly hooked. Think Ed Sheeran meets Imagine Dragons with new spices added to the recipe. The band is releasing an EP which was produced by Justin Broad who has worked with Jessie J and Corinne Bailey Rae.

How did the band form?

Chris and I (Rich) first met through our Rugby club, Old Cryptians RFC, in Gloucester, UK. We both spent our late teens playing together and forming a close friendship as teammates. In 2014, we both had injuries that put us out of action from playing rugby for a while (Chris hurt his hip and Rich knocked out a few teeth!). As a result we spent our time sulking around, not really knowing what to do ourselves. We started messing around with Chris singing and Rich playing the guitar. After a few public shows, it became apparent that there was a clear chemistry that crowds responded to. This culminated with the two being invited to open the prestigious Barn on The Farm Festival, which featured Hozier and James Bay that year, and this experience really opened our eyes to a career in music. A few years later and fortune brought Zoe into our lives – soon as we heard her sing we knew we wanted her as part of the band, and she’s been the heart of the band ever since!  CONTINUE READING

Chris Ayer has been quietly building a catalog of songs and releases the last several years, picking up fans and accolades along the way. Consequently, trying to figure out his artistic direction could be a bit confusing. For instance, he released the country flavored track On the BLVD that garnered over 1 million Spotify streams. With a complete departure, he just dropped the electro-pop track Stranger. The bottom line is he’s a good songwriter. Known for touring, he was a featured performer at the 2017 PinkPop Festival in The Netherlands, sharing the bill with Green Day, Martin Garrix, and Kings of Leon. Give it a stream!

Saint Clair drops the new track I’ll Stay. The mid tempo soul song feels like it’s a distant cousin of the mega hit Hozier’s Take Me To Church. The artist is Emma Topolski who goes under the moniker of Saint Clair. She’s based in London and crafted her sound by playing hotel gigs as a jazz singer. Describing her time gigging, “Playing three or four times a week, getting ignored in the corner of a five-star hotel”. Moreover, she is also the bassist for Childcare who opened up for Bastille on a arena tour. Check out the new video she dropped for the single.

If you were ever searching for John Legend’s hit single “All of Me” on YouTube, you may have come across YouTubber Luciana Zogbi. Her version of the song has garnered 75 million streams on her YouTube channel. Still her most popular video online, she has posted other several other videos that has clocked millions including Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”, Sam Smith’s “I’m Not The Only One” and Adele’s “Hello”. Now, with one million subscribers and with 200 million+ combined views, yes, she can make a living directly from YouTube.

Her latest track Where We Belong has the global flavor appeal, blending the most popular sounds from all the countries. Of course with this being her first recorded original track, she’s still finding her sound. When Kings asked Luciana the transition from a cover artist to an original artist she notes, “the crossover from covers to originals came pretty organically to me. I’ve always composed and dreamed of one day being able to share my message to the world. My followers were also always asking for original content so the whole transition was very natural”. Give it a stream!
ryan@clutch32.com