As lockdown 2.0 arrives in the UK, the music industry is hit with yet another crashing blow; the slowly rekindling flame of live music has been snuffed out once again. Thankfully, The Quarantine Mixtape and The Creatives Movement have teamed up to provide a space for emerging artists to perform during these strange times. These artists will all receive a resources pack with everything they could ever need to promote themselves in the age of social media. Through their series of online gigs, the collaborators will also be ensuring that the real-life equivalent may someday return as a portion of every ticket sold will go towards the Music Venues Trust.
Both The Quarantine Mixtape and The Creatives Movement emerged as a reaction to the devastating impact lock down has had on the music industry. Since June, TCM have been giving paid performance opportunities to rising artists every fortnight, making sure no-one misses out on the future of the industry. Meanwhile, TQM is a blog, a podcast, a social media page and a source of marketing for upcoming bands and artists. It turns out they are both equally talented television presenters! However, now, they put their talents together towards an even bigger challenge than the pandemic: equality and diversity.
The gigs were designed to empower female identifying people to express and showcase their musical talents. They chose five artists to inspire the next generation: Jackie Therrien, Federica Campini, Emma McCarthy and Olivia Ramos.
Jackie Therrien
Performing from her basement studio in New Hampshire, sixteen-year old Jackie Therrien played an assortment of romantic ballads from the two albums she has already released despite her young age. Later, she admits she first picked up a guitar only two years ago. For now, we are mesmerised by her rich vocal tones and emotive playing. Despite her gentle and poignant style, there is real power behind her voice. She sings of personal experiences. When asked during the interview section what we should expect from her latest album, she replies, “all my secrets” and that certainly rings true.
“Beautiful Boy” and “Kiss” are bathed in the essence of a high-school crush: “I swore I saw you in every crowded place but then the stars aligned because now we’re in the same space”. Whilst ‘Stay’ is her favourite in terms of production, it is the lyrics of ‘Best Friend and My Lover’ which mean the most to her. She introduces the track by candidly declaring, “It’s about falling in love with your best friend and all the little things you don’t notice about someone until you fall in love with them”. She concludes her set with a nostalgic trip back to the first song she ever released. A rapid stream of consciousness, ‘Get My Attention’ recounts the whirlwind of conflicting emotions that accompany a descent into love you know can only end badly.
Whilst we only hear performances on piano and guitar, Jackie Therrien is a mega-multi-instrumentalist, equally proficient on the clarinet and the ukulele. Even more impressively, she recorded, mixed, mastered and produced every song on her new album during quarantine whilst her whole family were cooped up indoors with her.
Her second studio album, Dreaming, is available on all streaming platforms.
Federica Campini
Federica added some premature festive spirit to the occasion with a microphone barely visible under a mass of twinkling Christmas lights and a bed dressed in a Christmas-inspired duvet cover. Despite filming from her home in London, Campini’s bubbly personality filled the whole room. The 23-year-old, Italian vocalist has been having singing lessons since the mere age of 10 and has just graduated from the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Her extensive training in musical theatre has served her well, yet her love of rock music has pushed her away from drama and towards the realm of song writing.
Her voice is wide ranging. During her performance of ‘Feel the Vibe’, she uses a deep and powerful chest voice. A dark track, it is accompanied by the sombre timbre of strings and piano whilst the vocals are bluesy and rich in vibrato. Meanwhile, during her cover of Dancing by the Italian artist Eliza she makes heavy use of falsetto, reaching the very top of her range, whilst never faltering in her intonation.
“Let’s see if you can guess the name of this next song,” she laughs. And indeed, the chorus could not be more saturated with the word, “Roots”. Nevertheless, it works. Covering Alice Merton allows Campini to embrace the groove of a raucously catchy bassline and reveal her funkier side.
She chooses to reveal an unreleased track to bring her bedroom show to a close. Titled “My Reasons”, the track is dedicated to her deceased mother. Through the lyrics, she reminisces over the times they shared. “How can I heal if you’re not here?” she sings, almost in tears, commenting on the huge role our parents play in our lives.
Every act was followed by a stimulating interview. As well as claiming she was “not a good musician” – lol -, Fedrica dove deep into her love of performance: “It’s just a crazy high, you know”. She spoke about her song writing process, revealing that, for her, lyrics are a way to express things that are taken for granted. She linked this with her interest in feminism, declaring “these things need to be said”. Determined as ever, Fedrica finished the interview by vowing to keep pushing every day for her goal: to do what she loves every day, whether it be on stage or on radio.
Keep up with Federica’s musical journey via her YouTube channel.
Emma McCarthy
Like Campini, Emma Carthy is a musical theatre extraordinaire turned song writer. Her passion for showbiz combined with a love of indie giants such as Sam Fender and the Arctic Monkeys meld together to form what one of the presenters rightfully coined, “storytelling bangers”. Her first track, “Real Life Chains”, for example, has an unusual meaning behind its jangling guitars and pop-fuelled refrains. Inspired by the disturbing dreams of a friend, McCarthy plays on the world’s ever mounting desire for freedom.
Lock down, however, seems only to have heightened McCarthy’s tremendous levels of enthusiasm. Indeed, by the end of that one song, she is already out of breath from bounding about her living room. Perhaps to give herself a rest after such an intense introduction, she chooses this moment to reveal her dramatic sensibilities. Performing ‘She Used to Be Mine’ from the musical, Waitress, McCarthy reaches right to the top of her vocal range. Her living room as a stage, she acts out every emotion as if she were live on Broadway.
Launching straight back into the up-beat, McCarthy follows this with her own rendition of ‘Exs and Ohs’ by Elle King– what she calls a “proper sassy song”. Her next two tracks are exclusives. First, we receive the rudimentary building blocks of an upcoming track, 'Acting'. A deeply personal tune, its lyrics refer to the difficulty in staying true to who you really are “I’m good at being everybody else, the worst character I every played was being myself”. As she says herself, “Boom!”
She concludes her set with her favourite track yet. Already in its final stages, you can already hear the captivating piano riff and screeching guitar which will bring it to life. For now, all we can do is wait until January and the planned release of ‘Away for Too Long’.
Emma’s second single, ‘Real Life Chains’ is available now on all streaming platforms.
Olivia Ramos
Californian singer-songwriter, Olivia Ramos has perhaps the most eclectic influences of all the other artists put together. Her dad introduced her to the world of rock, classical, disco and Latin music, whilst her mother showed her the wonders of opera and musical theatre. Whilst dealing with the passing of her beloved grandfather, she discovered the formative albums, The Climb by Miley Cyrus and This Way by Lady Gaga.
She is a determined character, resolved to use the lessons of her teenage years to help others combat their insecurities. Her composition is powerful pop, with funky acoustic guitar and ferocious drums. Poetically, she describes her desire to “hit the souls in some ways”, and more frankly, she expresses the need to “screw the beauty standards”.
Lucky enough to be in a studio, she performs covers of Lady Gaga and Demi Lovato as well as her own songs, ‘Basic Cally Girl’ and ‘Invincible Girl’.
Vocally, her performance was a rather disappointing end to the concert. Her empowering style required forceful growling and belting if she were ever to get her message across. Unfortunately, she failed to hit a lot of the notes, creating a harsh and unpleasant sound. Nevertheless, her enjoyment was projected through the screen in the form of unapologetically wacky dancing.
Everything just screamed, “This is me. I don’t care what you think.”
‘Invincible Girl’ by Olivia Ramos is available on all streaming platforms.
Congratulations Molly and Celia on a concert well-done!
To make sure you don’t miss the next concert….
And The Creatives Movement: Instagram | Eventbrite