Singer Jewel has revealed she fell in love with actor Sean Penn when he was temporarily separated from his now ex-wife Robin Wright. The Foolish Games hitmaker recently released a new memoir entitled Never Broken – Songs Are Only Half the Story. And in the book Jewel detailed an unlikely relationship she struck up with the Oscar-winner, which began when she was just starting out in Hollywood on the heels of her 1995 debut album Pieces of You. “He had seen me on Conan [O’Brien’s late night talk show] and was working on a movie he’d written called The Crossing Guard,’ she recalled on how they initially crossed paths. ‘He wanted me to compose a song for it. I told him I would and he said he would meet me anywhere to screen the movie, I could name the day. I gave him my cell number and figured I would never hear from him again.” Also in 1995, Sean had separated from his then-girlfriend Robin Wright, who he officially divorced in 2010 after 14 years of marriage. Jewel went on to explain in her book that she wrote a song called Emily for his movie and after the tune was […]
Will Guest’s latest EP and single previewed by Music Mirror UK
The new EP Only Life and single Coming Home will soon be released by UK singer-songwriter Will Guest, who was inspired by music including 70s and 80s funk, rock and acoustic songs by artists such as Damien Rice and David Gray. Will Guest, known for the humour in his performance, is from Northamptonshire where he started composing and performing in local venues and at festivals with his best friend and musical brother, the late Rich Brayshaw. In 2006, Will relocated to Spain to perform at the Anshebeen Irish bar as a solo artist and ended up playing across the Costa Blanca. Incorporating humour into his set, Will delivers a melodic punch of catchy guitar driven rock pop with both a classic and contemporary feel. The songs on his latest EP Only Life reflect on his life and the ups and downs along the way. The band currently consists of Will Guest on acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, Les Tropek on drums and percussion with Santi Costa playing bass. All members have played since their teenage years, inspired by the classic funk and rock albums of the late 70’s and early 80’s, then later by the softer acoustic music from […]
Music Mirror UK celebrates upcoming single and album by Kes C
Kes was born in South Africa during Apartheid and then her parents decided to flee the country and raise the family in rural England, having experienced many life-threatening situations. Subsequently, after the London bombings in 2005, Kes moved to Norwich and played the local scene in her family band Fuzzballs, solo gigs as Kes C, in cover bands and as a wedding singer. Kes C now lives in Shropshire. Growing up surrounded by a musical family, Kes listened to blues and soul and wrote her first song on guitar aged 12. She sung in school choirs and landed lead parts in musicals, then moved to London aged 18 to pursue her musical career. To develop her diversity and interpretation of songs, Kes experimented with musical styles such as soul, funk, heavy rock, dance and trip hop. Singing first in a rock and 90s college band called Genius in her early 20s and went on to tour with Misnomer, a trip-hop band with some radio success, who headlined Astoria and other London venues. Kes records songs for Molan Publishing, who approached her in 2014 during a recording session at the Beehouse Recording Studio in Mid-Wales. As a keen live performer, Kes […]
Alexandra Burke + special guests live at the Jazz Cafe
Join Alexandra Burke + special guests live at the Jazz Cafe on the 18th & 19th September. Tickets on sale for £22.50 (+ booking fee) from ticketmaster.co.uk or Jazz Cafe Box Office Doors open at 7pm.‘I’m not super human, I’m just Alexandra from North London.’ ‘ Alexandra Burke‘Just Alexandra’ indeed. Singing since the age of 5 and performing live by the time she was 9 years old, vocal powerhouse Alexandra Burke ‘ who has sold more than four million records worldwide ‘ has a signature soulful sound that was crafted throughout a childhood filled with music.Melissa Cecelia Ewen Bell, Burke’s mother, known to many as the ‘last leading lady’ of hit group Soul II Soul, took her to perform every weekend wherever they could find a live band.The British star’s amazing voice and vocal range developed quickly, capturing the heart of legendary recording artist Stevie Wonder, who wanted to sign her to Motown at age 12. From that point forward, offers for a record deal kept coming in yet education remained the top priority. It wasn’t until age 16 that Burke first auditioned for UK’s ‘The X Factor,’ but as fate would have Alexandra was not chosen to compete. Turning […]
XFM re-launches as Radio X Men ?
After growing whispers about Chris Moyles‘s return to radio, the secret is out. The DJ will front the reinvention of XFM into Radio X – “the first truly male-focused, fully national music and entertainment brand for 25-44 year olds”.Moyles will be joined by a core line-up of Vernon Kay, Johnny Vaughan and Ricky Wilson. But does Radio X spell good or bad news for radio? Ahead of its launch on September 21, two writers argue for and against XFM’s new incarnation. of the ’90s in one fell swoop – Lisa WrightIt’s an oft-noted fact that scenes happen in 20-year cycles, but logic dictates that some element of filtering should occur between them. The influence of Blur, The Stone Roses and many others from the ’90s premier league can be seen resonating in the likes of Peace, Superfood and Childhood currently, but we’ve tactfully sidelined Menswe@r and Salad.Chokers and plaid are de rigeur once again, but the re-emergence of the shell suit is hopefully a thing we’ll never have to suffer. Why then, is Radio X – formerly known as actually-pretty-decent radio station Xfm – deciding to resurrect everything that’s boorish and regressive about ’90s media culture? Radio X is aiming […]
Music Mirror UK reflects on new dance single by Mikejab
Michael Benjamin is a British Nigerian singer-songwriter, musician and producer, known for his music as Mikejab, who has released a new dance single ‘I As A Man’. To date Mikejab has worked across a wide variety of musical genres with many different artists. Michael started out as the lead singer in youth group, The Black Berets and then returned to concentrate on his school education. As a sound engineer, Mikejab has mixed and mastered many popular dance tracks in both Europe and Nigeria. Mikejab is known in the dance music community as the creator of a new music genre called AfroDance incorporating dance music and African percussive and rhythmic sounds. Mikejab has established a strong Internet presence via video, sound and radio online media, social media and his own website and these have won him followers across the world as an indie artist. The new dance single I As a Man is out now on ZX Records and was recorded at XZ studios in Reading, UK.
Music Mirror reflects on Wish I Were There by Wave Dweller
Wave Dweller, or Mark Newton based in Earlswood in Surrey, has just released a studio album ‘Wish I Were There’ with a single release ‘Summer’s Day’, now available on iTunes. Nostalgic Wave Dweller’s music is created using a pair of Technics turntables, MIDI keyboard, audio creation platforms and mixing software. The nostalgic nature of the music conveys deep thinking. Mark started creating electronic music aged 15 in 1998. He says: “I would use programs like Dance eJay and Music Maker to create house and hip hop loops. At this time I would record under my own name, and produced music for myself to listen to, and to impress family and friends.” Sound Waves Music became Mark’s passion, and from 2006 he started producing work as Wave Dweller, which stems from ‘cave dweller’ as someone who dwells in sound waves rather than caves. As a teenager, Mark became enchanted and intrigued by his main influences including: The Avalanches, DJ Premier, J Dilla, Fatboy Slim, Mr Scruff and Lemon Jelly. Mark says this is because, “they can take a long forgotten melody, sprinkle it with jazz and soul, and add a punchy beat to transform it into something new for the modern […]