I LUV LIVE REVIEW

3 Monday January 17 2011 Written by flyprints
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Set in Shoreditch I LUV LIVE is a biweekly event showcasing the best in unsigned music acts. Hosted by industry heavyweights Rass kwame and Twin B from 1xtra. This week Wretch 32,Yasmin, Mike Hough and Lauren Manson performed.

OUTSIDE

On the I LUV LIVE myspace site it advises its readers to put their name down on the guest list and arrive early. Both of which I didn’t do. So when I arrived at 8:30pm and realised that the queue was as long as the eye could see I tried to blag my way in. I realised very quickly that writing for a blog doesn’t get you very far with bouncers.

NOTE TO ANYBODY PLANNING TO GO I LUV LIVE, IF YOUR AREN’T A CELEB DONT THINK YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP AND STROLL IN. PUT YOUR NAME DOWN ON THE GUEST LIST AND SHOW UP EARLY!

It’s a good thing I didn’t put my name on the guest list though because I got to meet some cool people. I met Eniola a very accomplished woman who not only plays professional football for England! She owns her own legal and concierge company and writes for the http://yinnyang.co.uk/. I also met Tendai and Kai up and coming singer song writers. Check them out and follow them on twitter.

http://twitter.com/KaiKaiMusic

http://twitter.com/TendaiMusic

http://twitter.com/EniAlu

MAIN SHOW

Set in the Queen of Hoxton there are two levels, the upper level was intimately lit with a bar and ample space to mingle. The chilled atmosphere had an aquarium like quality by that i mean it was surreal watching celebs float by. l saw Mr Hudson, Sway and Jamal from SBTV. Downstairs had a very different feel, people where crammed like sardines, (I need to get of this fish metaphor thing) . Despite the event being tightly packed the crowd was good willed responding to the acts on stage and one lady even allowing me to rest my arm on her shoulder as i stretched to record the performances. (Thanks mystery lady)

MIKE HOUGH

Self described as “THE WHITE BOY WITH SOUL” Mike does indeed have plenty of soul his voice I can’t pin point who he sounds like(which I suppose is a good thing) but he sings covers very well, my favourite cover of his is maxwells pretty wings. With no support from a label, PR or management he’s done very well to get where he is today. Aside from he’s singing ability I believe it’s he’s determination and fighting sprit could help him to climb the greasy pole.

FOLLOW: http://twitter.com/MikeHoughUK

LAUREN MANSON

UK Nicki Minaj? Her style reminds me of the streets/ Mitchell brothers. The rapper/singers content however could have been better. I really like the idea of Lauren and i believe with a bit more time she could evolve into great artist she speaks for so many girls in the UK. She has an N DUBZ quality.

YASMIN

The first thing I noticed about Yasmin was her weird accent she speaks as though she’s lived in US for a bit. DJ Yasmin (she’s a DJ too) is featured on the song ‘Runaway’ with Devlin. On the night she performed her own version of the song but for me her performance of ‘on my own’ which was far better. You could feel ‘the fire burning’ from this song as she passionately conveyed the emotion working hard to reach a goal.

YOUTUBE COMMENT

“When I first heard this song? I connected straight away with the lyrics but gosh that and she’s so beautiful too? wow inspirational”

FOR MORE YASMIN VISIT http://www.yasminsworld.co.uk/

FOLLOW: http://twitter.com/itsYasmin

WRETCH 32

I’ve been a huge fan of this guy for a while. About to blow, Wretch 32 is one of the most lyrically competent rappers from the UK right now. On the night he did a freestyle and performed his single traktor. For me I like wretch best when he’s freestyling or when he’s rapping about serious topics such as suicide(look for end scene on youtube) .

FOR MORE WRETCH 32 VISIT http://www.wretch32.com/

FOLLOW: http://twitter.com/Wretch32

CONCLUSION

I LUV LIVE is a gold mine for music lovers, A&R’s, producers and generally people within the music industry. It’s an excellent showcase of the best in unsigned acts. It also gives unknown acts a chance to shine in the open mic section. The only thing I didn’t like about the event was the venue size however, all in all I LUV LIVE brings life back to Mondays. The next I LUV LIVE is on 24^th of januarary

FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT http://www.myspace.com/iluvliveuk

FOLLOW: http://twitter.com/iluvlive