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MUSIC REVIEW: Stevie Appleton – ‘Supposed To Do’

Dance – it’s what you’re supposed to do!

GET out of the house for five minutes, and let Stevie Appleton take you on a day trip to the summery seaside.

With all of this rain, snow, hail and storms plaguing the weather forecast recently, it’s hard to even remember what summer feels like. The smiling sky and daffodil yellow sun rays feel like a decade away, and even the sight of a bright beach feels foreign. But fear not because Stevie Appleton’s got a cure for those blues.

Pack your bags quick, the crunchy drums are telling you as they jump-start Supposed to do. Hurry we’ve got to get to the car. Warm sunlight streaming in from the dusty blue sky and hugging your face. The cheeky muted guitar chop propels your excitement further, with every shy addition.

A voice suddenly breaks through the wispy clouds, beaming down on the lush countryside below. It’s echoing in reverb, the sort you’d find in a church hall or cathedral, and seems to transform the quite calm landscape into one of glorious bright beauty. Summer has begun, finally.

There’s an oh so slight little glimpse of sadness in the voice. It’s as though this makeshift trip is a desperate attempt to make the most of the weekend, and forget the fact that you’ve got to go to work tomorrow.

Honestly, Stevie Appleton sounds like if Passenger was sunbathing on a brightly lit beach at the end of a festival. He’s got that quirky twinge of folk in his voice, but still sounds like a cheery singer-songwriter that’s both happy and sad to see the end of the gig.

A short chain of funky guitar licks reminds you of the beautiful beaches that are just around the corner. And as they slowly build, you jump into the front seat of the car, pick up your besties and race down the road, wind blowing through your hair.

It’s a great picture that cartwheels into mind and races off in a gust of smoke. The song is more than just sounds, it’s a feeling and a damn good one at that.

The melodies are so simple and lax, it just lightly paints all of the cheer of summer but with little drops of worry, instead of throwing over the top elation in your face. With the slow and steady drums swaying in the cool breeze, and a fluttering chorus of synthesized jewels, you finally reach the beach. Bring on the summer!

This track is the sound of a summer trip, through the country, to the beach. It’s twisted chirpy folk at it’s best.

MUSIC REVIEW: Drink about by Seeb featuring Dagny

A recipe for Electronic dance with a dash of boredom.

SEEB show us what they can cook up in their newest single Drink About, featuring Dagny. May contain overdone rhythms and basic beats. Suitable for vegetarians. Spice free.

First preheat the oven to the lowest temperature possible – these beats are not hot or lit.  Next we can add some piano to the dish, but make sure you soak it in plenty of reverb first. Really drench the feeling of distance into the piano. We want it to sound like it’s in a church to cover up the fact that it’s not a real one; it has to sound classy.

Now grab a separate bowl and fill it with bland female vocals, all the way to the top until it over spills. That’s all we want here. Don’t mix anything else with it, it’s fine by itself. Now at this point you want to gradually turn the heat up to 120 degrees, it’s getting slightly more interesting, the water’s bubbling a bit, but not too much.

We don’t want too much excitement – it has to taste like any other popular song in the charts for us to make money from it. A pinch of that derivative drum machine pattern should be folded in to the mix, do it quickly though before we lose interest. It has to look like the track is going somewhere nearer the chorus.

Leave that to simmer for a moment whilst we start on the chorus /dance break /instrumental section. This is where we need to turn the heat up until the pan is red-hot and water is spitting.

A quicker tempo calls for another layer of trancing drums, so get yourself a pan and start cutting out the patterns. Don’t worry if you repeat the shapes a bit, nobody will notice – after all this track is best used in a club where people are having too much of a good time to notice the poor construction. Sprinkle a dash of thin synth strings and a generous spoonful of keys, until you can barely tell what instruments you’re tasting.

I see what you’re doing, put down those spices. We want this dish to be as bland as possible. See that bottle of wine over there? Grab it. Whoa stop what you’re doing, we’re not using it for this recipe. You can however feel free to take a swig, trust me, you’re going to need it to get through the rest of this track.

Repeat the instructions again from the beginning until you have two lots of food ready. Yep, this recipe is simple and lacklustre at best. Don’t expect any impressive songwriting or playing here, everything has been mixed and altered on a computer device.

Now once it’s cooked you should have yourself a typical dance song. Best served cold, with a side of unoriginality and copycat rhythms. Or if you’re feeling fancy, this track pairs well with any other song by Sigala, Kygo or David Guetta.

 

PREVIEW: Strictly Professionals Tour comes to Brighton Centre in 2019

Tickets are now on sale for Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals which returns to Brighton Centre on May 24, 2019 as part of a 35 date UK tour.

DIRECT from BBC One’s award-winning prime time TV show Strictly Come Dancing, this glamorous production will bring together some of the popular Strictly Professional dancers as they take to the stage to dazzle with their dance prowess.

Enjoy the incredible talent of these world-class dancers as they perform exquisitely choreographed Ballroom and Latin routines with all the sequins, sparkle and stunning production values which are their trademark.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals as it returns to a venue near you for a Strictly limited engagement!


Event: Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals UK Tour 2019

Where: Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2GR

When: Friday, May 24, 2019

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: Tickets from £39.05

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone box office on 0844 847 1515

For more information about tour dates, click here:

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