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.
- 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.