31st August 2023 marks 10 years since our first ever Antix gig, in the upstairs room of Woods Wine Bar in Yeovil on 31st August 2013.
This week, we'll be going through some of our highlights and great memories from the last 10 years, as well as revealing plans for the business over at our social media. We will also be hosting a small gathering for drinks and nibbles on Thursday 31st August at The Closet, Maiden Street, Weymouth at 7pm, to mark the occasion. Everyone is welcome, free entry, and one of our favourite DJs Simon F will be on the decks for anyone who wants to celebrate into the night. If you have any photos or videos of Antix related events, recording sessions, or behind the scenes content, don't hesitate to send them over - we'd love to see what memories you have! Please use the Contact Us form, email admin@antixmusicnetwork.co.uk or head to our socials.
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If you’re a fan of Fall Out Boy, Bring Me The Horizon, yungblud & Panic! At The Disco, then you are in for a treat with this guy! Let me introduce you to Harry Jxye.
Harry Jxye (pronounced Harry Jay) is a young Pop Punk artist from the South West region. He’s no stranger to the big stage with accomplishments such as The Isle Of Wight festival on his ever growing list of outstanding performances. You can definitely hear the influence of the bands I’ve listed at the start in Harry’s music, so you’re in luck if you’re a big pop punk fan. Harry’s latest single “S.O.S” is a perfect representation of the genre. It’s heavily guitar based song with a fast paced rhythm section that keeps the energy on 10. What I like about the song is there’s no messing about, it’s straight into the song and before you know it, you’re deep into the first catchy chorus of the track. It certainly feels like a confessional song from Harry’s point of view. There’s no smoke and mirrors when it comes to the meaning, he lays his thoughts all out on the line. It’s really cool how he’s basically telling us all these really personal thoughts and feelings that are going through his mind, and the things that he’s currently experiencing in life, but it doesn’t feel boring or like it’s the ramblings of a emotional man. It feels fun and relatable. He’s telling you a true story in an energetic format, and one that’s catchy and easy to follow along with. During the song, Harry confesses that he can’t write happy songs anymore. And how he never thought he would make it due to his past of being “chewed up, spat out & hated” referring to the way powerful people in the music industry have perhaps treated him and his music in the past. Again he’s letting us into a vulnerable and hurt mind state, but portraying it in a fun and energetic manner. Have to say I was a big fan of Harry’s past work such as “Fake Friends”, and it’s really positive to see him going strength to strength with this new track. You rock mate! 4/5 Written by Jack Saunders
To celebrate the release of Ben Hutchesons self titled debut album, we decided to ask the man of the moment a few questions about his musical inspirations, songwriting, and of course his wonderful new album.
Jack: Hey Ben, great to be talking to you today! Thank you for lending me a moment of what I’m sure is a really busy and exciting time for yourself right now! Ben: Hey Jack, No worries at all! It’s an absolute pleasure! Yeah things are pretty mad at the moment with the album being released, now its just full steam ahead! J: First of all, let me congratulate you on the debut album, great achievement and one that you must be so proud of! It’s a really great album and I really enjoyed reviewing it. Tell me how you’re feeling right now, fresh of the back of the release date, and a wonderful launch party to accompany it! How did the launch show go? B: Thank you so much! Yeah absolutely, i’m definitely proud, its taken about 4 years of rescheduling due to Covid and other aspects that delayed it so I’m definitely glad to have it out there! The Show was great! We had a wonderful and attentive crowd with some incredible supports from George Wilding and Hushwing which really made it a special night! J: So for any of our audience who don’t know much about you, how would you describe yourself and your album? B: I tend to describe myself as a Country Rock Musician that has aspects of both Folk and Pop sprinked in the songs. The album itself is what I’ve done to try and make a journey of it. It starts on a high, brings you in for the gut wrenchers in the middle and softly plonks you back down at the end. Each song has its own unique meaning to me but I love hearing people's opinions on what they interpret the song as and it really fills me with joy hearing they got something from it! J: What is your favourite song from the album, and is there perhaps a different song that you would recommend to a first time listener? B: Ooh hard question! I’d say my favourite is one of the last two on the album (Keep the Light On or Came From You). Keep The Light On was a hard song for me to write due to the place I was in mentally at that point but I’m proud of what its become since. Came from You is a song that I feel completely encompasses the vibe of the album and brings it all to a head hence it being up there for me. For a new listeners I’d possibly recommend Summer of Seventeen or Thinking About You. Both are easy going, up-beat songs and really can be one of the easiest songs to listen to! J: Let’s go back to the very start. Who would you credit as your three most influential artists? And what was the moment when you realised that you wanted to be a singer songwriter? B: I’ve known i’ve wanted to be a singer since I was about 5. All of my life i’ve focused on music and its just everything to me. As for artists I always struggle so much with this as so many influence you at different stages in your life. If I had to choose 3 of the most influential I’d likely say Kenny Chesney, The Script and Luke Combs. J: You have had some success in the past with one of your songs “Stand By Me” which has amassed more than fourteen million streams! An incredible achievement. How does it feel to have a song with that many listens? Is there some kind of marketing secret that you think other artists should know? B: It’s mad to think about really! I released through a small label which is where a lot of the marketing came from so sadly I have no tips although I wish I did! I’ve had friends from England go on holiday only to be told they heard my song over in a club in Spain or other places. It’s all very surreal. J: You’ve said that there’s a music video planned in the near future, are you able to spill the beans on what songs we can expect to see videos on and any clues as to what the videos could look like? B: So I can confirm that theres a music video due out at the end of this month! Its a very relaxed vibe of a video but I can’t give away the track just yet so that may help with the guess… as for others in future, I do hope so! they’re great fun to do it just depends if they’re viable or not! J: This is a question I like to ask all of our artists. What is your earliest musical memory? B: Oh gosh! I suppose it’s when I had my first phone (I was probably about 6-7) and using bluetooth to transfer different songs between friends and getting “Apologise” by One Republic and listening to it religiously just as I thought it was a great song! J: Lastly, what does the future hold for Ben Hutcheson, and what’s the musical plan going forward? Another album? B: The hope is to grow the audience and grow the fan base! Then of course it’s all about releasing new music so I should assume that another album will likely don’t you worry! J: Thank you so much for talking to me once again, Ben. Always a pleasure! Ben Hutchesons debut album is available to listen on all platforms. Be sure to head over to the Antix website and app if you would like to read my review on two of the songs from Ben’s album. #GetInvolved Jack Saunders releases charity single 'Meet At The Light', featuring Weymouth Park Community Choir7/28/2023 If you’ve been following Antix Music Network, or Jack Saunders recently, you’ll know he released his debut album “Chapters” at the end of June. On June 30th, Jack also performed at his own launch party at The Emporium, in Yeovil, with support from Tim Fawkes and Dave Woan. This week, he’s re-releasing one of his songs, “Meet At The Light”, and raising funds for the Dementia UK charity in the process. The song was originally released in 2019 as a single for Jack. The new 2023 version features the Weymouth Park Community Choir. “Meet At The Light” also holds a special place in many of the performer’s hearts, as it was written for Jack’s grandad, who unfortunately suffered dementia towards the later years of his life. Jack has set up a GoFundMe page, where donations are welcome, with all money raised going to Dementia UK. All the links you need are below. Just Giving Buy The Single on iTunes
Ben Hutcheson - Came From You & When I Come To Town
Since it’s been a while, let’s catch up a little and do two songs from Ben Hutchesons self titled debut album. Let’s start with “Came From You”. The song features some beautiful acoustic guitar, light drums, piano and some female backing vocals. The term easy listening comes to mind. And when I say that, I mean it’s just so relaxing and satisfying to listen to. You don’t have to listen to hard to enjoy the music. You can just sit back and let the music take you away on this amazing journey. Bens style is very similar to the ginger phenomenon that is Ed Sheeran. Its very much an acoustic singer songwriter album, a genre that I particularly love! Ben describes his music as modern country which I can definitely hear a lot of throughout his record. What I notice a lot in Bens voice is this very natural vibrato. It’s beautiful and something that lots of singers would kill to have, and this song really shows it off. His voice works so well with the female backing vocalist during the chorus, there’s lots of beautiful harmonies throughout, but the chorus is really something special. Next up, it’s “When I Come To Town”. I want to stress that Bens album is a beautiful combination of upbeat acoustic numbers, and some really graceful piano ballads. But I chose this song in particular because of how easy and fun it is to singalong. I remember Justin Hawkins from the band The Darkness once stress that a catchy chorus will turn a good song, into a great song. And that’s exactly what this song is. On only my second listen, I managed to hum along a little with the chorus, and in my opinion, there’s nothing better than when you find a song with a chorus you can well and truly belt, and Bens really hit the nail on the head here with “When I Come To Town”. The acoustic guitar, the little bits and pieces of electric guitar, and of course that really great piano sound really makes this feel like a mainstream country album recorded by a big artist. You wouldn’t believe that this is a debut album! The country genre is slowly coming back into mainstream music, especially over here in the UK where I don’t think there’s been a country song that’s really captured the nation since “Achey Breaky Heart”. But with the recent success of Anne Marie’s “Unhealthy” storming its way to number one, it feels like a younger audience is slowly warming up to this modern country sound. So in my opinion, this is the perfect time for Ben to show what he’s made of. And hopefully, he’ll manage to continue captivating and introducing people to a genre that usually is relatively neglected. Great work, Ben. And congratulations on the debut album! 4/5 Written by Jack Saunders
The boys are back for the trilogy!
That’s right, The Idle Silence have returned once more for their third Antix review. As soon as I saw that the boys had released another single, I knew that we had to have them back! This particular song just shows the versatility of the band. When you look back at the band’s previous songs, you realise that you seem to get a different style than before. The first song we reviewed was called “Dark Matter”, a really dark fusion of The Ramones meets Nirvana. Their second track "Close”, very much reminiscent of Green Days Dookie record. And now “The Message Gets Confused”. So, what exactly does the latest Idle Silence track sound like? Simply put, it’s a really interesting indie rock song that’s driven by a bass lick and simple drum beat with guitars floating around a little lower in the mix. To me, it is very reminiscent of Paramore's “This Is Why”. It’s a really cool and funky song. This is what makes the band so interesting and intriguing in my opinion. They aren’t just sticking to one style of music, they’re experimenting and exploring new things which is exactly how you grow a fan base. But don’t worry, if you aren’t digging the chill indie vibe, then there’s a twist. Halfway through the song, the tempo is doubled and goes into this really heavy rock bridge that is similar to The Idle Silence’ first song “Dark Matter”. It goes from this chill festival tune to an energetic mosh song, before returning back to the original style that the rest of the song was in. It’s almost like you’re watching one band on tv, before changing the channel and catching a glimpse of a completely different style band momentarily, before switching back to the first channel. Definitely see why they’ve called it “The Message Gets Confused”. What more can I say about the boys? They smash it every time. So it’s about time that they earned their highest rating yet. 5/5 If you’ve been following Antix Music Network for a while, you’ll have seen Jack Saunders has been getting involved and offering reviews for new original music from local acts. He’s also been increasingly involved in our network, being part of the behind the scenes Antix team at Home Farm Fest, as well as coming up with new ideas for the network.
On June 30th, Jack Saunders released his own album called Chapters, recorded and engineered by Antix Music Network, and held a launch party at The Emporium in Yeovil on the day of release. While recording, most of the production ideas came from Jack; Antix were only really here to put everything together - it’s always great when an artist knows what they want, as it makes our job a lot easier! On the album, you have a previously released single called My Mistake, which is currently sat at 42,000 streams on Spotify. In terms of new music you won’t have heard before, the lead single from the album “Less Than You” is a song influenced by pop punk bands of the 2010 era, with a driving guitar rhythm, and clever vocal looping - a song we like to call “radio ready”. A stand out track for us is Meet At The Light, a song about his grandad who suffered from dementia, and unfortunately isn’t with us anymore. Although previously released with another production team before COVID, Jack wanted to give it another spin, by adding the Weymouth Park Community Choir to the track for backing vocals. This soulful, melodic song hits home with anyone who has had a similar experience with a family member, yet brings positivity to the song, with the lyrics “I know I’ll see you, when we meet at the light”. Another stand out track is the slightly experimental closing track Lost & Found - a melodic song with reverbed guitar solos, minor piano arpeggios, with sounds of the sea subtly mixed in to give it that “sound scape” feel. The whole album is full of catchy riffs and vocal melodies, quality guitar playing, and gives you an insight into Jack’s ability at just 24 years old. After working with Jack on and off for a while, it’s clear that he has an incredible passion for music, and the music community. Since he’s been involved with Antix Music Network, he’s come a very long way with performing confidence, and overall musical ability. If there was an Antix Award for Most Developed Act, Jack would be an unquestionable winner. We look forward to hearing more from Jack over the next few years. Written by Frazer Mitchell
Instantly, “New Man” catches your attention. There’s no slow starts, it’s straight in with a guitar, a kick drum, and bass guitar fueling this high tempo, toe-tapping rhythm that doesn’t drop throughout the song. To me, it’s the definition of 0-100. It's just constant energy from the get go.
Something else that’s impressed me, is this mixing of genres that you seem to get from Lee Fox. It’s almost like a fusion of indie rock and rap. At first, I thought it might just be the case of some very fast singing, but it genuinely is a rock song mixed with elements of rap. Really cool. In fact, I’d go as far as comparing it to a song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers…just with less mentions of a particular state in America. Just before the last chorus comes in, there’s a little bit of comedy added in where Lee’s energetic performance is interrupted for a few seconds by a random voice cutting the music and informing him that he’s not allowed to continue with the next line, possibly because they believed it would rhyme with a rude word? However Lee, eases their concern of any upcoming explicit lyrics by telling them what the next line actually is, before the music winds back in and continues on with the fast driven chorus which also ends on a Van Halen esque solo. Very impressive! Once again another great track from an artist that really does deserve some more recognition. Great track, Lee. I know who I’ll be coming to if I ever need a spare pair of lungs! 4/5 Written by Jack Saunders With 3 bank holidays in one month, and an ongoing cost of living crisis, it’s fair to say the start of this summer season has thrown up some challenges for creatives working within the music industry.
That being said, there is a sense of “bouncing back” within the industry post covid, and more smaller events are popping up across the South West UK. We’ve compiled a short list of things you could do as a musical artist to “stand out” amongst the crowd, get noticed, and get future bookings. 1. Showreel - a short video compilation of you performing, to give venues and promoters a good idea of what your act is, and the vibe you’re going for. We suggest a 3-5 minute clip of 6-8 songs, in high definition, with some clean editing. 2. Release music on streaming sites - originals or covers, this is vitally important in 2023. It shows promoters and venues that you take your music seriously, and gives them the chance to listen to your music in the background, or even submit your music for radio play (Antix Radio are always looking for new local music). Even though streaming sites are notoriously poor at paying artists, it is still income; look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves! 3. Be Polite - this really should go without saying, but a simple short introduction, and a simple closing of an email goes a very long way, along with a short bio, links to your music videos, social media links and contact details. 4. Attend Open Mics - Open Mics are a great way of getting exposure to new music industry people and venues, and a great way of gaining confidence. We are always on the look out for new talent to join Antix Music Network, and this is a great way to #GetInvolved 5. Update social media - take this time before things get too busy to update any websites and social media, for example, new photos and making sure all contact details are correct - if you’re in a band, have multiple members on your social media, or if you’re a solo artist, perhaps a friend or family member, so any enquires and opportunities don’t get missed. Written by Frazer Mitchell - Events Coordinator at Antix Music Network
I always enjoy listening to different genres, especially ones that I wouldn’t usually listen to. What I really like about listening to “You and I” by Fleur Lindsay & Toby Burley is how chilled out it is. You know that feeling when you’ve been super busy and had a stressful and intense time, and you finally get that day to just relax and switch off your brain? This is what “You and I” feels like to me.
It’s got a bit of an early 2000’s R&B sound to it with some simple electric guitar playing some simple yet beautiful chords, a slow drum beat, a few licks of piano and bass to round it off. In terms of the lyrics, it’s certainly about chilling out with someone you love and enjoying their company. It gives me the feel of a young couple laying together in bed just talking, laughing and really living in the moment. Something that really accompanies the chilled out instrumental is Fleurs vocals. Her voice is very soft throughout the entirety of the song, almost in a constant falsetto. I really think it fits the song perfectly. It would still be an amazing song if she was belting out these really loud powerful notes, but by using the softer tone of her voice, it keeps the whole song in a nice chilled out lofi vibe. An impressive effort considering Fleur is only 19 years old! In terms of the lyrics, I say it all the time, but you don’t need to have verses upon verses of detailed lyrics to create a good song. Something that’s simple, easy to sing along to, and even better if there’s a particular lyric or melody that you can remember. That’s exactly what you get with this song. The title of the song “You and I” is repeated during the chorus, and the groove doesn’t change much from the beginning of the song. But it’s easy to listen to. Great song Fleur & Toby, really enjoyed this one! 4/5 Written by Jack Saunders |
AuthorSFrazer Mitchell - Producer, DJ, and Events Coordinator at Antix Music Network CategoriesArchives
January 2024
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