Interview with: Shiraz Hempstock

Introducing SHIRAZ HEMPSTOCK, the young songbird who made an impressive entry on the blog with single, ‘Simmer Down’. As one of the most exciting artists to have come out of the UK,  who received support from the likes of BBC 1xtra and BBC Radio One, it’s only natural that NEW LEASE MUSIC hook up with the newcomer…

NLM: Hey, thank you for taking part in an interview with NEW LEASE MUSIC. So what have you been up to in the music circuit?

SH: Released two tracks ‘Done The Dirty’ and ‘Simmer Down’ and have a track going out shortly being released on Pussyfoot Records called Rain, Tilt Ft Shiraz, going out on a couple of different mixes, which I’m really looking forward to as it’s a little bit different from my current stuff.

Also, I’ll be supporting Leee John from imagination at the Jam House Birmingham on 6th June.

NLM: Your single’ Simmer Down’ has been named Song of the Month by NEW LEASE MUSIC last month. What was the public reception of the single?

SH: The public reception of the song was amazing, it was taken on by BBC Introducing, who then forwarded it to BBC WM, Radio 1XTRA and BBC R1, it has a lot of following still.

NLM: What’s your inspiration behind the single?

SH: I don’t tend to have any inspo behind my songs, I tend to just write where my heart takes me. It tends to be an imaginative story that I make up there and then, I tend to dive in deep to any emotions this character may be feeling.

NLM: So how would you describe your sound to potential fans?

SH: My sound is very RnB pop.

NLM: If you had to collaborate with ONE mainstream artist, who would it be?

SH: If I had to collaborate with one mainstream artist it would be Drake as he uses a lot of Rnb and pop clips throughout his albums.

NLM:  If you had three wishes to change the music industry today, what would they be?

SH: I don’t have any wishes for the music industry to change, but if there were to be one then it would be for everything to be fair.

NLM: So what are your plans for this year?

SH: My plans are to get an EP released hopefully, do a couple more gigs and festivals and to get myself out to the public eye more!

NLM: How can potential fans make contact with you?

SH: Potential fans can contact me by my social media:
Instagram- @shirazhopee
Facebook- Shiraz Hempstock
Twitter- @officialshiraz
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/artist/1coP2ucjK8Twjn8RqNuXyg

NLM: Finally, if music didn’t exist, what profession would you do?

SH: If music didn’t exist I would be a prison/police officer.

Song of the Day: Simmer Down – Sakyi 4

You have great potential… It’s just you guys need to work out what group you want to be – SIMON COWELL.

With that sound advice from one of the most respected music moguls on the planet, brothers Reece, Carl, Aaron and Eden Sakyi – aka SAKYI 4 – are determined to become UK’s next promising R&B group. 

For their latest single, ‘Simmer Down,’ the quartet switched it up with rich and bold presence of Afrobeats, fused with their laid-back R&B trademark. Since its release, the music video for the single has cranked up over 8,000 views on Youtube, gaining support from Link Up TV.

Their previous R&B number, ‘Bad As You’, received a seal of approval from SBTV’s Jamal Edwards MBE, clocking up over 31,000 views on YouTube.

Born in North West London into a mixed heritage (Ghanaian and British) , SAKYI 4 were introduced to music from an early age through their parents’ love for soul, pop and African music. The brothers share the same passion for singing and songwriting, crediting Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson as early influences.

Gaining praises from a string of UK’s biggest urban tastemakers, SAKYI 4‘s new offering is just the beginning of their very fruitful journey….check it the video.