Albert Docks, Liverpool

Last Friday I visited Liverpool with my Art Gallery and Museums Studies class in order to visit the Museum of Liverpool and the Tate Liverpool. I have previously visited the docks briefly with a local friend but have never actually explored the docks fully. The Albert docks have been part of Liverpool's waterfront for over 100 years and now houses various nightlife venues and top museums. With stops at the highlights of Tate Liverpool and the Museum of Liverpool we also managed a whistle-stop viewing of the International Slavery Museum. I was impressed with how the docks have been brought into the 21st Century while still retaining historical value.

I found the 'Dazzle Ship' very amusing; the retired 760-tonne Pilot ship was transformed this summer by the Merseyside Maritime Museum and artist Carlos Cruz-Diaz. The stunningly eye catching piece dedicated to British marine artist Norman Wilkinson who first created 'dazzle ships' for the Navy in 1917.

I found the whole of the Albert Docks to be very interesting overall and wished I could have spent some more time exploring. There is definitely another visit in order some time soon. (When hopefully the weather will be better!)

The Tate Liverpool 

The Museum of Liverpool

While I am not a fan of modern art, the Tate Liverpool was definitely an experience and I can see why it is an integral part of the Albert Docks area. We particularly enjoyed a visit to the Andy Warhol exhibit that is currently showing at the Tate; his most iconic images are on show in a very dynamic display for the very reasonable price of £5 for a student admission. 

The Museum of Liverpool however was much more to my liking, full of interactivity and engagement which would be particularly fulfilling for those with younger members of the family. 

BEAT100 Ultimate Musician: Maddison Wilson

Maddison Wilson has become the latest BEAT100 member to receive the Ultimate Musician Award!Maddison from Melbourne, Australia is a newcomer to the BEAT100 community that has impressed the A&R team with her beautiful original track 'Birds'. The emotional piano ballad is currently climbing in the World Music Video Chart and has received 3 Gold Awards. Speaking about the creation of her latest piece,Maddion says 'Birds represents the fear of change and the challenges we are faced with when a new world is presented to us.' Obviously a very personal and emotional song for the talented writer, Maddison sings 'Birds' with a natural passion and charisma that can be heard in her vocals throughout the track.

Maddison did not grow up with an overly musical background like some artists but found that her love for music was something that came naturally to her. As a child she begged her parents for piano and singing lessons and her talent has blossomed ever since. To this day Maddison still takes inspiration from her past teachers whenever she writes and sings. These influences have obviously helped her musically throughout her career because in 2013, Maddison became a finalist in the Australian Independent Music Awards for her debut single 'The Fight'. She also went on to collect rave reviews for 'Higher' a track released earlier this year. Influenced by the music of Sarah Bareilles and Alanis Morisette, Maddison creates moving and emotionally engaging music that is reminiscent of UK singer songwriter Birdy. One of Maddison's greatest artistic inspirations is David Bowie; his eclectic influence can be seen in the music video for 'Birds'. With a masquerade party theme based on Labyrinth, the music video depicts an indulgent scene filled with lace, beading and champagne. Maddison tells BEAT100 that 'Birds' is her most creative release ever and one of her team's greatest achievements to date.

Lately the songstress has been hard at work creating new tracks for her debut album which will hopefully be ready for release in early 2015! With a full schedule ahead of her, she will be busy performing many gigs in the coming months and also working on some collaborations. Maddison is extremely excited about her track currently in the charts, telling BEAT100 'I'm very much a Pop person but I don't always feel like I fit in...I am truly grateful to everyone who voted and can't wait to share some more music with everyone.'

Written for www.BEAT100.com

Essex's Hottest New Band? : We Are People

It's always something to shout about when someone with talent comes from your hometown. Hailing from sunny Southend-on-Sea in Essex, we may have lovely (coughnotquite) beaches and the world's longest pleasure pier but not much else goes on. 

That's why when I heard of a great new band that have been performing in and around our small Essex town and steadily growing in popularity, I decided to give them a listen. I was in for a pleasant surprise! 

We Are People are offering a fresh new sound with a funky twist to a classic Indie backdrop. Having only played their first gig at Saks on Halloween, We Are People are still virtually unknown but instantly have listeners hooked with their catchy tunes. Talented frontman Matt Linnen leads with gravelly vocals that add a rawness and edge to the band's overall sound. Linnen as been hinting for sometime at the formation of We Are People, with the slogan appearing during and after his solo cover performances on YouTube for the past couple of months. His distinctive vocals can also be heard on the acoustic version of 'We Are People' the band's newest self named track. The group are rather elusive, with minimal info to be found online about the band's line up and background but this just allows them to be judged on the music alone (which, as it stands, is working wonders in representing them). 

Have a listen to my favourite track so far, Love Toys, a funky upbeat Indie song that is sure to have your head bopping less than 30 seconds in. 

Virginia Ernst Is Named as the Latest BEAT100 Ultimate Musician!

Songstress Virginia Ernst has earned the Ultimate Musician Award after catching the eye of the A&R team with her pop hit 'Soldier'. Virginia, from Vienna, is already a hit in her home country, with one of her previous tracks entering the Top 40 of one of the biggest radio stations in Austria; she has also garnered attention in Sweden, Germany, Poland and the UK. Following in the footsteps of her musician father, Virginia was inspired to create music from a young age. As a child she started writing and singing her own songs but never believed that she could become a star, instead she focussed on her other love of ice hockey! From the age of 14 Virginia played for the Austrian National team and at just 17 years old, moved to Sweden to play professionally.

After a successful few years as an ice hockey player, Virginia realised that her passion for music could not be diminished and she set herself a new goal to become the performer that she had always wanted to be. At 20 years old she started to learn the guitar on YouTube and in 2011, the talented young singer travelled all the way to London to perform in a singer/songwriter competition which she then went on to win! Virginia spoke to BEAT100 about her sudden musical success 'I never thought I could reach so much in such a short time. Everything went so fast for me but I love it!' she said. Virginia now enjoys a degree of fame in Austria and has started to be recognised in the street!

Now, using influences from her idol, Pink, Virginia creates catchy, edgy music that highlights her strong vocals. Her unique voice gives her music a key individuality and freshness that keeps the listener tuned in. Her latest track 'Soldier' has been given 3 Gold Awards by the BEAT100 team and is steadily climbing the World Music Video Chart. The strong pop production has a catchy chorus and a professional music video that makes it seem that Virginia has been creating music for far longer than she has. Lately, Virginia has been working on a brand new EP and is preparing to shoot some new music videos soon, which we can't wait to see!

Written for www.BEAT100.com

National Railway Museum, York

On a family trip to York, my younger brother wanted to visit the National Railway Museum. Now, as much as I love museums, I wasn't too stoked about visiting a museum full of trains and neither were my parents. Dropped off outside the museum, I was left as museum chaperone for the day. 

I have to say, the exterior did not excite me, instead it seemed to prepare me for a long boring day trudging around after my brother. We entered and left a donation (the museum is actually free admission) and were handed a map and a list of the day's activities by some very friendly staff members. We arrived in the Great Hall and almost immediately my preconceptions were proved wrong. Just the shear size and array of trains on display are enough to impress even if, like me, you know nothing about the history of trains.

The huge space that the objects are housed in helps to convey a sense of majesty and grandeur. Beautifully conserved and displayed, there is plenty of information on each train and many have elevated platforms for easy access to peer inside the driver's cab and carriages.

With a collection containing over 1,000,000 objects spanning 300 years of railway history it is easy to see why the visitor may get confused but it's safe to say that the use of space is utilised so well that you hardly notice that you are seeing so much in such a small amount of time. From a replica Stephenson's Rocket to the Eurostar and Japan's high speed bullet train, the National Rail Museum covers every aspect and delivers something for every visitor. We visited during the school summer holidays and the whole museum was very busy, especially with families and children. Even with the large amount of visitors on this day, the only crowded spaces we found were the gift shop and the cafes.

Station Hall is situated in a building across the street, accessible through an under-road tunnel. Station Hall was built in the 1870s and was once home to York's main goods station, functioning for nearly 100 years. The visitor is completely transported to a station of the past surrounded by classic station objects, celebrated Royal trains and impressive historic installations. 

In the center of Station Hall, with the impressive backdrop of the Royal trains, is The Dining Car Restaurant. A beautiful space where you can eat your lunch in a recreated Victorian lounge area or your very own traditional 'dining car' booth. This area was so beautiful and the perfect place to stop for lunch in this historic setting, we were really disappointed that we had already eaten lunch in the more modern (but equally lovely) Mallard Cafe in the Great Hall.

The National Railway Museum also offers some surprises along with the more typically expected engines and carriages. When I visited, the Gallery housed a beautiful photography exhibition covering industrial work spaces and employees. This lovely collection from a variety of photographers created a very artful area alongside the physically industrial space of the Station Hall and Great Hall.

One other surprise for me was The Warehouse; a lovely area that houses over 700,000 of the museum's objects displayed in an eclectic cabinet of curiosities layout. The visitor can spend hours just perusing the thousands upon thousands of objects ranging from chairs and train models to stained glass windows and the Platform 9 ¾ sign from the Harry Potter movies. Even though some may find the scattered display hard to stomach, I found it highly entertaining and could easily visit the museum again just to visit the Warehouse.

Overall, The National Railway Museum York, completely shattered my expectations and taught me not to judge a museum by it's cover! As a visitor with no previous knowledge of trains or railway history, I left feeling happy and educated and because of this I highly recommend a visit, it may change your mind too!

On a side note; I loved the mini-train which runs at regular intervals between the museum and York city center for a small fee. Especially what we needed on a rainy northern day!

Manchester

Today I went on a bit of a trek around Manchester visiting some areas in preparation for an upcoming presentation (eek). On the way I found some really lovely spots that I had never visited before, including Sam's Chop House and the Manchester Central Library.

Naturally I took lots of photographs!

I had my first visit inside the Manchester Central Library and particularly liked seeing the 

books and texts that have been taken from the newly opened Elizabeth Gaskell's house.

 After recently learning of the story of Alan Turin and his tragic life,

 I found the memorial to him in Sackville Gardens nicely understated and very moving.

The whole reason I took my walk around the city today was to visit the statues from the

   'Talking Statues' project. Here you can see Barbirolli, L.S Lowry and The Reading Girl 

from the Central Library. (more coming on that project soon!)

Summertime Dropouts are BEAT100's Newest Ultimate Musicians

BEAT100 are pleased to announce our newest Ultimate Musicians, Summertime Dropouts! The five-piece from Minneapolis, MN create an energetic combination of Punk, Pop and Rock that is reminiscent of Pop Punk supremes such as Sum 41 and Blink 182. The band impressed the BEAT100 A&R team with their catchy newest hit 'Young and Dumb' which was released on the 28th October and won the band 3 Gold Awards. As well as 'Young and Dumb' Summertime Dropouts have also won 3 Gold Awards for every song that they have uploaded to BEAT100 proving the consistency in their work.

Danny, Michael, Josh, Joe and David are mainly influenced by the likes of Fountains of Wayne, Bowling For Soup and Sum 41 and that classic Pop Punk sound can be heard in their tracks. Each song from debut album 'Rewind' creates a lively, vibrant and infectious sound that is an obvious hit with their listeners, onBEAT100 and beyond. In keeping with their energetic boy band image, Summertime Dropouts have a fun outlook on the tough parts of band life, jokingly telling BEAT100 'We have a HUGE passion for loading trailers and living out of gas stations.' In keeping with their satirical sense of humour, the band have also written a book....a book entitled '100 Things to Do With a Potato.' Born from a Twitter joke with fans, the book has now been translated into 5 languages and is currently available for free download.

Following debut album 'Rewind' and the release of the new single 'Young and Dumb', Summertime Dropouts are now preparing for the release of their brand new album 'No Diving' which is out on 2nd December this year. BEAT100 wishes the band all the best for their track in the World Music Video Chart at the moment, and of course for the release of their second album!

Written for www.BEAT100.com

The John Rylands Library, Manchester.

When I first moved to Manchester, The John Rylands Library in Deansgate was somewhere that really made me fall in love with the city. The late Victorian Neo-gothic building was opened to the public in 1900. It was founded in memory of John Rylands, Manchester's first multi-millionaire. Rylands owned the largest textile manufacturing company in the UK and the library was founded in his memory after his death in 1888 by his wife Enriqueta. Sat directly on the street on busy Deansgate, John Rylands is the perfect place to step away from the hustle and bustle outside. 

With church like architecture, the building itself seems to represent the worship of knowledge. The new building extension does not impose on the beauty of the original building at all, housing the cafe and gift shop, so to keep the more modern amenities from interrupting the flow of the old. The new and the old is juxtaposed perfectly with the original walls of the building still showing through as you walk up the stairs and into the library itself.

The library owns over 250,000 printed volumes and over a million manuscripts and archival items. The collections include Medieval illuminated manuscripts, what is believed to be the earliest specimen of The New Testament and the second largest selection of printings by William Caxton. Such a beautiful collection reflects the elegance and the artistry of the architecture itself and provides the perfect setting to browse the historic collections.  

One of my favourite parts of the library is the original Victorian toilets, which can be found next to the original entrance hall. They are still fully functioning and have been unchanged since 1900, showing a wonderful Victorian charm including cubicles large enough to fit in a traditional bustle skirt. Something that intrigues and delights me the most is that the library is still fully functioning place of academic research; all of the books and manuscripts in the library's collection are available to access through the libraries reader services and the dedicated reading room. 

The Historic Reading Room is easily my favourite area of the library, and one of the most spectacular places in Manchester. The huge stained glass windows and floor-to-ceiling book cases make the room a hybrid of church and library that creates an aura of wonder and resonance. The Historic Reading Room, as well as the rest of the library, still remains a place for quiet study, relaxation and research as well as an intriguing exhibition space presided over by the proud statues of Mr and Mrs Rylands themselves. Such a unique space and a beautiful building has fully cemented itself as one of my favourite Manchester places. 

     Well done to the staff of The John Rylands Library & their sense of humour!
    On my visit, Mr & Mrs Rylands were fully mustachioed  in honour of Movember. 

UK Vinyl Sales to Reach 1 Million this Year for the First Time Since 1996

It seems that the popularity of vinyl records has rocketed in the UK this year with sales being at their highest point in almost 20 years. Billboard have reported that vinyl sales are currently around the 800,000 mark and with the all important Christmas selling period on the horizon, that number is set to definitely pass 1 million for the first time since 1996. This has already surpassed last years sales which were at 780,674 for the entire calendar year of 2013. It seems that vinyl records are enjoying a 'renaissance' of sorts, especially with the popularity growth of all things vintage and retro.

Vinyl sales are still only responsible for around 1 percent of all UK album revenue, with CD sales at 65 percent and digital album sales at 35 percent but the vinyl revival has been growing over the last few years, after hitting a low in 2007 when sales only just reached 200,000. Earlier this year, Jack White's album 'Lazaretto' was recently confirmed as the highest selling vinyl album since Pearl Jam in 1994. It accompanies 'AM' from the Arctic Monkeys and 'Definitely Maybe' from Oasis as the biggest sellers this year. 

Written for www.BEAT100.com

Lou Lou's Vintage Fair at Whitworth Hall, The University of Manchester

Today I had a rare weekend trip to campus to visit Lou Lou's Vintage Fair that was making an appearance in the beautiful Whitworth Hall. The Grade II listed building itself perfectly set the scene with its 19th Century Neo-gothic architecture. Inside was a hustle and bustle of activity, the whole room packed out with vintage lovers searching through boxes of berets, brooches and retro bags. A pop-up hair salon really put the icing on the cake, offering vintage hair styles and make up for just £10. With all of the activity (and the million things I wanted to buy) I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do but i'm taking that as a good sign!

I couldn't resist trying on some typical vintage fashion obviously!

BEAT100 Chart Winners - 27th October 2014

This week saw 3 really talented musicians and groups at the top of the BEAT100 World Music Chart - 1 former German Idol contestant, amazingly talented 14 year old twins and an acoustic 'Progressive Folk' group. Here is my article and the accompanying music videos for these 3 great acts.

Jesse Ritch walks away with the Number 1 spot on this week's World Music Video Chart! Jesse has reached the top of the charts with his original song 'Let Me Love You'; the acoustic track sees Jesse showing off his impressive vocals accompanied by soothing piano sounds. The emotional song was awarded 3 Gold Awards by the BEAT100 A&R team as well as gaining over 2300 views on BEAT100 alone. Jesse, from Switzerland, is best known for his appearance on the 9th season of German Idol in 2012, in which he finished 3rd. Since then Jesse has gone on to carve out a strong musical career for himself; after being signed by music label '7Music' Jesse released his self titled debut album in February 2013. His first single 'Forever and a Day' was also chosen for the pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, only narrowly missing out to The Salvation Army. As well as performing as a solo artist, Jesse also utilises his natural vocal ability as a singer for DJ BoBO, Switzerland's biggest singer, songwriter and entertainer. Having recently released his second album 'Groove' in April 2014, Jesse is currently on tour in Switzerland and Germany. Always working hard to become a household name in his home country and beyond, the talented song writer tells BEAT100 that his next goal is to become better known in the UK and the US, expanding his overseas fanbase. With his first 2 albums gaining such a good reception from his fans we are sure that Jesse will go far!


Second place in the charts this week goes to The Sposato Brothers and their amazing cover of Stevie Wonder's 'Living For the City'. The 14 year old twin brothers from Malibu, California bring a whirlwind of fun and upbeat tunes to their BEAT100 listeners and recieved 3 Gold Awards and over 2000 views in return! Julian and Milo are inspired by a diverse range of artists including Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars and bring a youthful energy and creativity to their songs, covers and originals alike! With a songwriter and a composer for a father, it is easy to see why the brothers were hooked on music from a young age. At just 2 years old, father Blue noticed baby Julian singing back the violin lines that he was composing, whereas a young Milo started pestering his parents for a saxophone at just 4 years old. After beginning to study piano at 6 years old, the twins were treated on their 9th birthdays with saxophones and trumpets. With such a musical family it is easy to see why the twins have been such a hit with their online fanbase. As well as their hectic schedule of recording and performing the boys also study acting, improv and dance. As well as that they cram all of their spare time with their favourite activities of karate, soccer and water polo. The brothers definitely bring their own brand of youthful energy to their work and along with their natural vocal talent and passion it makes for a great performance! Currently busy with their energetic life style The Sposato Brothers are always on the look out for new opportunities with production and recording companies whilst enjoying recording and performing.



In 3rd place this week is Progressive Folk group Greye! Greye impressed the BEAT100 viewers with their fresh and unique sound on their acoustic original 'I Love You' which won them 3 Gold Awards and also saw them being named as BEAT100 Ultimate Musicians. Only forming in 2013, Greye is a relatively new band but that hasn't stopped them making an amazing first impression on BEAT100 and beyond! Over the last year the band have written 28 original songs and had a hectic festival season this summer. Using a disciplined approach and strong work ethic the band work together up to 20 hours a week recording and writing. As a result of all of the band's hard work their debut album 'Providence', made up of 14 original songs, was released in August this year to rave reviews; one critic described 'Providence' as 'an original, poetic and refreshing new album, full of strong societal commentary and sentimental subjects that are distinguishable and relatable to many young people.'  The four band members, Jett, Hannah, Ray and Josh all bring their unique musical influences to the band; inspired by a large range of artists that include Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Incubus and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the band combine their musical tastes to create a signature sound that is both individual and vibrant. Wanting to stay true to traditional Folk music, Greye only use acoustic instruments which, accompanied with the soothing voice of lead singer Hannah, creates a timeless sound that is not easy to forget. Currently, Greye have a busy work schedule of writing, recording and performances. Not content with the success of their first album, Greye is already hard at work on a second, set for release in Spring 2015!