06 Oct

Posted at 16:14h in Anna, Blog, Uncategorised

 

DaVinChe Interview Link

Click the above link to view Anna Nathanson’s interview with London based producer DaVinChe at his South London studio.

As well as working with the likes of Tinie Tempah, Kano and Tinchy Stryder, DaVinChe  is also a classically trained guitarist and pianist and has conducted a concert for the BBC’s Urban Classics.

He continues to produce a range of different genres, from R&B to Grime, and is currently working with artists such as Aggro Santos, Cleo Sol, Bashy and Wretch 32.

www.myspace.com/davinchemusic

www.annanathanson.co.uk

With special thanks to Rafael Bettega and Jackie Davidson

12 Jul

Posted at 21:22h in Anna, Blog, Uncategorised

By Anna Nathanson

Last Thursday Ne-Yo put on an album playback with a difference, previewing material from his forthcoming project ‘Libra Scale’, to be released in September.

It was so top secret that the invited audience had to hand in their mobile phones at the door, to avoid any of the tracks getting leaked prior to release. Some of them have of course already been getting radio airplay, such as the dancey ‘Beautiful Monster’ and the feel good R&B track ‘Champagne Life’ which is definitely worthy of becoming a potential future single.

Once everyone was seated, Ne-Yo appeared on stage, sat down and introduced himself, before revealing that the album is based on a short story that he had written. He then proceeded to tell the story, before playing the first track, which coincided with that bit in the story. After the track had finished, he carried on with the story, and then played another track. It was so cool how each track encapsulated the bit of the story he was telling, and after previewing the sixth track, the story ended on a cliff hanger, meaning that everyone would have to wait until the album lands to find out the conclusion.

At the end, there was a question and answer session with Ne-Yo, in which he voiced his thoughts on autotune, revealed that he is a big fan of Amy Winehouse and that the story behind his concept album was a metaphor for fame.

I even plucked up the courage to ask a question, and was really surprised by the answer. The question was; “You’re known as an iconic songwriter. Do most of the songs you write make it on the album or do you write a lot of songs and pick the best ones?” to which he replied that he wrote about 200 songs before selecting the best 12 to make the final album!

The intimate playback with Ne-Yo really was such a great experience, the tunes were banging and it was a real eye-opener on the man behind the hits. Make sure you listen to Ronnie Herel’s exclusive interview with the star on Monday night from 10pm on BBC Radio 1Xtra or online all this week at www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra.

Anna x

24 Jun

Posted at 20:44h in Anna, Blog, Uncategorised

Leona Lewis Concert
O2 Arena, London
18 June 2010

By Anna Nathanson



I went to see Leona Lewis at the O2 Arena last week for my sister’s birthday and although it wouldn’t have been my first choice of concert to go and see, it was quite a show, with a lot going into the production.

The amount of thought that had gone into the setting was immense, with each song accompanied by a different background, complete with often dream-like scenery including dancers and props. At times it felt like we were watching a ballet or theatre production, with the elaborate stage direction including Leona being suspended in the air on a swing and one set made to look like a forest with extras dressed as fairies. There was also a fair bit of outfit changing going on, with dancers filling the gaps during these short intervals.

Even though it was the evening of England’s World Cup match against Algeria, thousands of people still packed into the massive venue for the show, the same arena that Michael Jackson was due to do 50 shows at last year before his untimely death.

I’ve never been the greatest fan of Leona’s songs, but I do think she’s got a lovely voice, and she really showed it off with a selection of her music from both albums, as well as a number of covers, including Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’ by Eurythmics. The songs that I do quite like of hers, such as ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Footprints In The Sand’ were omitted, and ‘A Moment Like This’, the song that contributed to her winning the X Factor in 2006, was also not included, perhaps to distance her image from that of the programme, to highlight that she is a star in her own right now.

At the end the audience sang along to ‘Run’ and the auditorium became a sea of light after she instructed everyone to put their phones in the air, and then she came back to perform ‘Bleeding Love’, her first single. It was soon the end of the show and it certainly didn’t feel like it dragged on at nearly two hours, in fact it was quite a spectacle and so well put together. See above for some pictures from the concert.

Anna x