A truly wholesome experience

This is something completely different than usual. I’ve reviewed all different types of genres and artists. But this is a new one. This week I took a look at the wonderful and wholesome Weymouth Park Community Choir.

The community choir is made up of a variety of older ladies and gentlemen, who get together during the week and practice some songs together. I love the way how the members of the group are all brought together by music. It’s not unusual for older folks to become a bit lonely and lose that much desired social interaction once they retire, so it’s incredibly wholesome that once again music has brought together (possibly) a group of strangers and has given them a platform to connect with others and have something to look forward to.

The choir entered into the recent Closets Got Talent competition and made it all the way to the final, which is incredible! I’ve actually had the pleasure to watch the choir perform two songs recently. The Sound Of Silence & YMCA which was really great to see. Conducted by Antix’ own, Trudy Baddam, this is different than your average choir. These guys are great fun to both watch, and listen too. In the case of their YMCA cover, members towards the back have the letters of the song printed on the folders they use to follow their lyrics. Once the chorus kicks in, each member holds up their designated letter in time to the song, which is something truly enjoyable to watch.

The awesome choir have recently teamed up with fellow finalist, Patrick Clark, to record a cover of “Blueberry Hill” made famous by Fats Domino. The song itself is a 1950’s rock and roll hit, and before I did some research on what era the song itself was published, I instantly felt like I was transported back in time to that generation which is a testament to Patrick’s incredible playing. Also really awesome to see two different generations of people coming together over their love of music.

I think other communities should look at the Weymouth Park Community Choir as an example. This is a great way of bringing people together, and after all, that’s what community is all about. They’re still an old school choir, but they’re not afraid to do some things slightly different than a conventional choir like adding the fun and comedy to their YMCA cover. I can definitely see them connecting with a wider and younger audience by continuing these quirky actions . The choir actually won the public vote a few times during the Closest Got Talent contest, so they’re already winning over some new fans!

Great work guys, it’s lovely to see and hear you all enjoying yourselves. I look forward to our next meeting!

4/5​

Written by Jack Saunders

Brave Ones make a statement!

Brave Ones are back with another headbanger anthem, and it seems that they are making a big splash with their single “Alive”. Let me start by giving some information about Brave Ones, before we get into the song.

Brave Ones, are an Alternative Hard Rock/Metal band from Somerset. They’ve played some pretty big shows in their time and have recently caught the attention of none other than the BBC. They’ve been featured on BBC Radio 1 Introducing Rock, and BBC Introducing South West, so they’re definitely attracting eyeballs and ears. So let’s get into the song.

Instantly there’s some sort of effect on the vocals, I’m not sure of the technical name of it but it’s basically like hearing music through an old telephone. It sounds really cool and isn’t an effect that’s used much nowadays. There’s no slow starts either, it’s straight into this rap style flow which is accompanied by what I think is some sort of synth? It gives me Linkin Park ft Jay Z vibes. Combining two different styles and backgrounds of music into one track, a great way to also introduce fans of those two genres to the band and their music!

Straight away you can feel that Brave Ones are building up to something big from the moment the song starts. It’s fast, it’s energetic and it’s exciting. You’re not sure what they’re building up to, but it’s going to be big! Around the 30 second mark, the rest of the band come into play and the intensity increases. You’re still not sure what’s coming, but now that the rest of the band are involved, it’s going to be huge.

All of a sudden, the band drops out for a few seconds before exploding back into the uplifting and awesome chorus. This is what the band have been building you up for from the first second, and now that it’s here, it’s everything you’ve wanted, and more. You don’t want it to end. I didn’t want it to end. I can definitely see why these guys have caught the eye of mainstream radio.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I loaded up this track on Spotify. I had seen several videos of people going wild at Brave Ones’ shows. I had seen the raving reviews about them and their music, however I feared that this would be a genre that I wouldn’t enjoy. But it really was an awesome track and it feels fresh reviewing something that is from a genre I don’t really dive into too much.

Stay wild Brave Ones. Hope to catch you soon and congratulations on the radio play!

4/5

​Written by Jack Saunders

The true heartbreak anthem…
 
The rising star that is ‘Lizzie’ has written what I can describe as a remarkably beautiful, transcendent and transparent song. There’s no smoke and mirrors, no clever metaphors to try and hide what Lizzie is saying. Just pure and simple, it’s a young talented girl who sounds like she’s grieving the loss of a lover. She’s trying to come to terms with it all. It also feels like she’s scattering her brain to try and help her understand what’s happening, how’s it’s happened?
 
It's a beautiful piano ballad that’s accompanied by a kick drum and swirls of guitar. The piano reminds me of an Adele track, but Lizzie has adopted and created this unique sounding genre. And although it’s a slow, sad song, I can’t help but have my mind overcome with these big bursts of colours all of a sudden during the chorus. It’s like multiple cans of paint have just suddenly exploded and covered the once dark canvas with a new layer.
 
“Though we live two worlds apart. Feel so close but yet so far. You are. My star. In the dark” - some really powerful lyrics once again where the young singer-songwriter is trying to make sense of what’s happened. Or maybe in fact, this is before the break up, and is rather the break down of a once strong relationship. Maybe this is Lizzie, trying to come to terms with what’s going on. There’s still that little bit of closeness between the two, but they are drifting further and further apart. The person Lizzie is singing about is still a person who lights up her dark sky, but she feels like that light is fading, and this eventually brings us to the chorus where Lizzie is becoming frustrated, perhaps angry and more and more desperate for answers.
 
We now lead onto the chorus where it feels like Lizzie has become tired of tiptoeing around the subject of the relationship between herself and her partner and wants answers. She wants something. Anything. The words “can you” keep replaying over and over, but with a different question each time. She wants to know if she is the only one hurting, is this other person even bothered by the idea of losing her presence? She’s desperately trying to salvage the remains of any kind of relationship with this person, but is not having any success. It feels like at points she’s even wondering if her voice is getting through, and if so, is it bringing them back to her? “Bringing You To Me”.
 
When I discussed with Lizzie what song she would like myself to focus on, she gave me complete freedom with my choice. However she did reveal that this was her favourite song from her new E.P ‘Reflections’. And I can definitely see why she’s gravitating towards this one. It’s so raw and emotional, but remains a really beautiful song that I really enjoyed.
 
Great job Lizzie. Your sky may be dark, but your future is bright!
 
4/5

Comedy writer, music & video producer, and performer Courtney Todd, AKA Catnip! has just landed 23 dates at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. 

Fairly new to the Antix Music Network, and coming second at this year’s Closet’s Got Talent, Catnip! has bounced onto the scene, so we thought we’d catch up and shine a spotlight on an upcoming local talent. 

Frazer Mitchell; Hi Courtney, nice to catch up with you. First off, tell us a little about your act Catnip! 

Courtney; Hi Frazer. That’s a cool zebra print cowboy hat you’re wearing by the way. Catnip! is me and my cat Gomez. I do the comedy and he does the admin.

FM; Thank you! We saw parts of your stage show at Closet’s Got Talent, of which the judges voted you through the first 2 heats, and made you a runner-up to Olivia. Considering the level of talent in the competition was so high, how did that feel coming second out of 54 applicants?


Courtney; Closet's Got Talent was an awesome experience that I was honoured to be a part of, and placing second was the icing on the cake. I haven’t been on stage many times and the level of talent was pretty high so I was extremely nervous going in to it. 

FM; You’ve previously released a fair few singles and music videos, and more recently have started performing on stage. For anyone who hasn’t seen your live performances, what can the audience at Edinburgh Fringe expect to see?

Courtney; My show is callled Catnip! : Greatest Hits. I’m releasing an album of the same name soon containing all my previously released tracks, and a bunch of new ones. The show is me performing each song live on stage in different and unique characters. Interspersed with a few sketches and a bit of stand up. 

Every one of my songs are completely different from each other in style and sound, and range from punk and rap to piano ballads and spoken word poetry.

FM; Tell us more about Edinburgh Fringe. What does it take to get into a festival like that? Why did you decide to apply?

Courtney; I’m really hoping to get some exposure and take my act to the next level. The Edinburgh Fringe is huge and attracts the biggest names and up and coming comedians. Loads of big acts like Sarah Millican, Romesh Ranganathan and Jack Whitehall all got their big breaks from their Edinburgh shows so hopefully I’ll get a job on A League of Their Own. 

Aside from a lot of guts and even more cash it’s open to anyone to join in and put on a show. It’s not a cheap endeavour and I’m definitely going to be broke. I’ve got a GoFundMe on the go, to try and raise some money so I don’t starve and resort to dodgy favours. I’ll just leave this below

https://www.catnipclub.biz/edinburgh-fringe

FM; For most people reading this (as we’re based in the South West), Edinburgh is a long way to go. Is there a chance of seeing your performance more locally?

Courtney; Yeah, I’m trying to get as many live shows in locally before August to workshop my show and I’ve been lucky enough to secure a few venues so far. The Closet in Weymouth have been amazing and are allowing me to perform spots at their club over the next few months so turns out crying and begging works!

FM; Aside from Edinburgh Fringe, what else can we expect from your act over the next few months? 

Courtney; Beyond workshopping my current show, releasing the album, then doing Edinburgh, who knows! I don’t really have a plan for Catnip! or where I want to take it but I’m open to try anything once. Follow and subscribe to all my internet pages to follow along and find out. Maybe we’ll do a collaboration with Justin Beiber and Nike shoes, probably not but never say never. 

FM; Thanks so much for catching up with Antix Music Network today, and best of luck over the next few months! 

Courtney; Thanks man. Can I have the hat? 

Disclaimer - the zebra print cowboy hat doesn't exist.