Focus Music Notes. "Out of the Blues". Popular music through the decades

Island Records is proud to announce the launch of a new live initiative; Island Life. Life will provide a platform for the new breed of Island acts. Kicking off the showcases will be a night in East London and a UK-wide tour. On October 8th the Queen of Hoxton will reverberate to the sounds of UK pop’s stellar new pixie Coco Sumner AKA I Blame Coco . Support from Pete Lawrie (more of which below) and this year’s brightest new producer/hitmaker Starsmith. Also on the decks will be the Island Records All Star DJs while our friends at Red Stripe have kindly offered to supply free beer to the first 250 people through the door. The inaugural Island Life UK tour brings together three extraordinary talents. 22-year-old Lauren Pritchard hails from Jackson, Tennessee and has been described by The Sunday Times as ‘wonderful, brooding, strung-out soul’. Produced by Eg White - the man behind Adele’s ‘Chasing Pavements’ - her future is bright. Zimbabwe born, Hackney-raised Tinashé will be bringing...

Following the release of her debut EP ‘Because I Do’, Pearl and the Puppets will release the new single ‘Make Me Smile’ on August 16th. Pearl, AKA Katie Sutherland and her band The Puppets, have been receiving a steady stream of attention over the last year after winning the Scottish Sun’s New Band award and a performance on the BBC Hogmanay show on New Year’s Eve. With live shows so far including an appearance at The Great Escape, a headline Scottish tour and UK support tour with Alphabeat. Their debut EP was well received and performances at the likes of Secret Garden Party and T in the Park this summer along with a support slot with Elton John at Watford Football Club. Her second single ‘ Make Me Smile ’ is a feel-good summery pop song that has a breezy melody and catchy chorus that you can’t help but sing along to. A favourite in Pearl’s live set, it is perfect for the summer festivals and is sure to make even the most tired festival goer get up and dance. Three years ago Pea...

Following a packed out Scottish tour, Pearl and the Puppets will release their debut EP ‘ Because I Do ’ on 3rd May. Pearl, AKA Katie Sutherland and her band The Puppets , have been receiving a steady stream of attention over the last year with performances on the BBC Hogmanay show on New Year’s Eve, sets at T in the Park and the Wickerman Festival along with a headline Scottish tour last month; all this before a single release. Three years ago Pearl was just another music-loving shopgirl and primary school teacher student who was classically trained on woodwind and could bash out a tune on piano. Aged 19, she bought a guitar, taught herself how to play and quickly wrote some songs. Within a matter of months she’d set up a Myspace and posted four demos. Within a week, the first record label contacted her and after signing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell , Pearl decided to abandon her degree at Glasgow University and recruited a band; The Puppets. She signed first to Universa...