Academy Stars Celebrate Independents Day

THE best of Liverpool’s up and coming musicians will showcase their talents at a special event this week as part of Independent Venue Week. The ‘LIMF Academy Showcase’ will take place at city centre venue Magnet and will see the ‘Most Ready’ artists from 2015’s Liverpool International Music Festival Academy celebrate their success to date, taking place from 7pm on Thursday 28 January. The Showcase not only coincides with independent venue week, but also reaffirms Liverpool’s newly awarded status of UNESCO City of Music which the city received because music is at the heart of its contemporary culture and it invests in young people so that world class talent can continue to be honed here. It also comes just two months after LIMF scooped a national award at the UK Festival Awards for ‘Best Festival for Emerging Talent’ based on the work by the Academy. On Thursday evening there will be performances from the three 2015 winners who are:

• Amique – working on his craft since the age of 7, Amique is a singer, producer, composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and band leader and has gained a reputation as a serious talent within the industry.
• Jalen Ngonda – USA-born Jalen has classed Liverpool as home since 2014. He was inspired by his father’s collection of jazz, hip-hop, soul and classical records and is widely regarded as one to watch.
• Michael Seary – The 24 year old Liverpudlian producer creates mostly drum and bass tracks, releasing EP 1343 Days to critical acclaim and support. His LIMF Academy win has resulted in him working with one of his producer inspirations Feint as well as Grammy Award winner Steve Levine. New songs and collaborations are on the cards for 2016 as he takes more steps towards bigger success.

Michael Seary said: “The academy has been a good springboard in my career as it has opened up new opportunities to me that I would not have achieved without the support from the Academy team. The money that was awarded to me has helped me to better my image and artist profile by allowing me to have professional level promo shots taken, get music videos shot and high end mastering. But aside from the money the one-to-one support behind the scenes has been exceptional as the whole academy team do genuinely only want the best for you. With the help of the support I have managed to gain multiple national radio plays on tracks of mine which I feel the academy is directly responsible for.” Amique said “I am really excited to play the upcoming LIMF Academy showcase at Magnet. I get to play with the most fabulous musicians and I’m super grateful for the opportunity.” The showcase will also feature:

• Eleanor Nelly who took the Academy’s ‘One to Watch’ title last year – the 16 year old singer/songwriter is cutting her musical teeth by playing at festivals and venues up and down the country and has recently released her first EP Insane and Loved.
• Katy Alex who is a 2014 LIMF Academy graduate and described as a northern Lilly Allen. With a passion for fashion and music she performs regularly in the city and is hoping to be signed to a major label in the next two years.
• L U M E N is 17 year old Liam who has been championed by BBC Introducing and spends most of his time making music and experimenting with sounds.  He is hoping to start to get noticed and get an ‘in’ into the music industry.

  The event starts at Magnet (Hardman Street) from 7pm until 11pm. Tickets can be bought online for just £2 plus £1.25 booking fee from TicketQuarter – www.ticketquarter.c.uk/online/limf-academy. Tickets can also be bought on the door on the night. Yaw Owusu, LIMF Curator, said: “”With all the recent awards, including UNESCO City of Music, 2016 is a very exciting time for the city and our music creators. The spotlight is once again thrust on our music makers. It’s amazing that at the same time our pool of raw music talent is probably as strong and as deep as it ever has been. The LIMF Academy hopes to continue to be a central part of the grassroots music culture and a leading beacon for music talent discovery and development in the region, making sure our stars of the future get the support they need. “Our crop of talent this year are all doing amazing things. Our ‘Most Ready’ are now breaking through on national platforms and the story is just starting. It’s vitally important we all get behind these artists and help them as they build their careers.” The LIMF Academy Showcase is hosted in association with Bido Lito! Sam Turner from Bido Lito! said: “Two things we try and champion through Bido Lito! is emerging talent and independent culture, so having the LIMF Showcase gig as part of Independent Venue Week is a perfect fit for us. It’s been fantastic seeing the Academy artists progress through the programme so we’re really looking forward to seeing them all together in a live setting. It’ll be a boss night.” Independent Venue Week runs from 25 to 31 January. It aims to celebrate small music venues across the country, and the people who work and play in them.