From Birmingham but currently seeking fame and fortune in London, LILY CLARKE makes her debut with the self-released The City (www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzDyvdDkAkk), an essentially simple but structurally complex number with strummed acoustic guitar backdropped by sound samples (train, seagulls), muted drums and what sounds like woodwinds that speaks of insecurity (“I wanna be someone else most days”), lack of a sense of purpose and the need for someone to lean on (“when I feel like nothing you’re the stableness I know”). It’s already picked up several very positive online reviews as well as a BrumRadio Track Of The Week, so definitely a name to keep an eye on. (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082586691322
Mixing, mastering and playing everything himself, Castle Bromwich-born LUCA SIMIAN wrote his new single Waving Goodbye back in 2022 but it stayed gathering dust until it started getting solid reactions at live shows. So, he wisely resurrected it, the track, a delicate simply strummed ballad of offering support in dark times with spare piano notes that warrants favourable comparisons to Damien Rice. He started making music when he was 8, making his debut album, Hummingbird, when he was just 14. He’s now 18, has played two sell out O2 Birmingham shows and does a damn fine version of Elvis’s Little Sister. Expect great things by the time he’s 21.
