REUP: THE RECENT RELEASES YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO

In collaboration with Amex Gold Unsigned

You may have seen Amex and GUAP collaborating over the last few months to bring you Amex Gold Unsigned 2. From the call out for music submissions to the live showcase, we’ve been following the entire journey and at the end of it all came six unsigned musicians performing at a live music showcase at beloved London venue The Dome to celebrate a recent renovation. 

We caught up with the fresh new faces for this installment, read on to discover what they’re excited for this year. 

Riya Gadher

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before? 

A: My core genre is alt pop but within that I sort of made up a sub genre called hope-pop as I have a lot of cinematic, uplifting elements to my music. 

Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?

A: Other than Hans Zimmer, there are too many influences to name but others have heard parts of London Grammar and Billie Eilish in my sound. 

Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?

A: The highlight for me was definitely the showcase performance as well of course meeting the other artists and the Amex team.

Q:What’s your advice for other independent artists? 

A: Be the best at what you do and then find a way to show that on social media whilst keeping your artistic integrity.  

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I’m aiming to have a string of releases this year backed up with some creative visuals and supporting gigs 😉

simon a.

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before? 

A: If Solange, James Blake and Kendrick Lamar had a little cousin to whom they teach everything they know. In other words, Indie/Electronic Soul or Rap that aims to help you.

Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?

A: I suppose the previous question answered that haha, but I’ll actually say three more, why not! Radiohead, Pharrell, and Tame Impala.

Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?

A: Having the opportunity to perform on the stage at The Dome was great fun. It’s the biggest stage I’ve performed on and to the biggest audience so far in my career, so it was amazing!

Q: What’s your advice for other independent artists? 

A: I think a lot of people are starting to focus on the numbers right now as the music industry becomes more and more metric-based. I say just make good music. Focus on making some good music that’s fun and interesting for you and you’ll figure out the rest afterwards!

Q: What’s next for you? 

A: I actually dropped a single on the 29th of February called FERMI. It’s actually the first single in the lead up to a new album coming out towards the middle of 2024, so stay tuned 😉

Abz Winter

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before?

A: Rocker vibes, tongue in cheek, deffo for the single people.

Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?

A: Charlotte Sands, Gayle, Demi Lovato.

Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?

A: The Amex [showcase], I [had] such a good time, what a vibe.

Q: What’s your advice for other independent artists?

A: Learn to perform, because performance is everything.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: Hopefully loads of festival, radio play and Glastonbury baby !!!!!

Park Lane (prev. BABY)

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before?

A: [LUKE] DIY bedroom beats, scrappy guitars and kitchen sink poetry.

Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?

A: [LUKE]⁠  ⁠Jamie T, M.I.A and The Streets.

[AL] Los Campesinos! are my all-time inspiration and one of the bands that got me making music. Puzzle-era Biffy Clyro are up there for me as well. More recently I’ve been listening to a lot of 90s hip-hop and so creatively that’s my biggest inspiration right now – stuff like A Tribe Called Quest.

Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?

A: [LUKE]  We had a good time but ⁠being on the same bill and set as one of your heroes (Mike Skinner) is never gonna be a bad time is it?

Q: What’s your advice for other independent artists?

A: [LUKE] ⁠Keep going, just keep going, man. Make stuff that feels good to YOU and get whatever it is you need to out of you, out of you. Don’t worry about nothing else.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: [AL] Obviously, we’ve just changed the name of the project which has given us a springboard to jump from and we’ve got some sick things in the pipeline – right now feels like the start of a really exciting time for us.

Q: [LUKE] Yea, for sure. ⁠We’ve got our debut EP I’ve been writing for literally years in my bedroom finally coming out this year, a few singles and shows – a tour hopefully in the works. A bunch of stuff we can chat about, and some stuff we can’t. All the usual business, you get me?

Harleighblu

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before? 

A: A melting pot of jazz, hip hop and R&B sounds with warm soulful vocals dripped over trippy electronic beats. I like to mix the past with the present…
 


Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?



A: That’s a hard question! Probably neo-soul legends like Jill Scott, D’Angelo and Erykah Badu.


Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?



A: I have honestly loved every moment so far… but playing live really is my thing. So supporting Mike Skinner in London was pretty mental… I’m a huge fan of The Streets!



Q: What’s your advice for other independent artists? 



A: Work hard no matter what happens! It seems obvious but you need mad resilience in this thing ha ha. And don’t compromise your art or vision… making art you are truly proud of being your authentic self is the goal.



Q: What’s next for you? 

A: 2024 is going to be a mad year for me! I’ve been taking my time writing and cooking up in the studio… it’s all nearly ready! Dropping very soon.

Kianja

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who’s never listened to you before? 

A: My songs are essentially self-reflective anthems, filled with memorable hooks, honest lyrics and laced with lush live arrangements. I want both musicians and non-musicians to feel nourished by and relate to my music, that’s what all my heroes did/do. 

Q: Who are your top 3 music inspirations?

A: I’d have to divide that up into top inspirations for songwriting: Bill Withers, Sade, Sting, Stevie Wonder and for singing: Etta James, Sara Vaughan and Anita Baker. So tough there are many influences that worm their way in subconsciously. 

Q: What has been the highlight of being a part of Amex Gold Unsigned 2?


A: The biggest highlight was talking with the other artists on the bill and sharing our journeys – ups and downs, made me feel less crazy haha. It was also so fun to play in a bigger venue and build a mini dream show. 

Q: What’s your advice for other independent artists? 



A: Trust your intuition, say and do what feels right to you. One of the speakers on the Amex panel said something that really stuck with me. She asked “why do you do what you do?” – that’s the crucial question to ask yourself. Is it about legacy and moving people’s spirit or is it about instant gratification and money – words and actions should align with what you want. Personally I choose legacy – which makes short-sighted people panic haha. 

Q: What’s next for you? 

A: I have a live project recorded at Decca Records that’s out now. Over 2024 I’ll be releasing my next project ‘Chapter 4’. Headline show in October 2024 – details to be announced so keep an eye out.