EP Review: 'Honey' by Liam McClair

Artist: Liam McClair
Title: Honey
Genre: Acoustic, Pop
Label: HourGlass Productions
Release: 28th July 2014

hits rating: 8.5/10
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Hey guys,

When artists you've been following for a while release new music, it's always pretty exciting.

 Those artists who's plans for the future you're kind of involved in are special and it's lovely to see their music doing well.
And I'm happy to review the brand new EP by such artist.

Liam McClair is a singer/songwriter from Manchester, UK. You could put him into the acoustic pop genre but still you'll find sprinkles of folk in it.

With strong live performances Liam has convinced crowds all over the UK and even made it to Belgium and Holland to play his music.
Music fans from all over the world are drawn to his sound.

His first EP 'How' already got a lot of positive feedback for a good reason - it's, simply put, brilliant.

It left us with high expectations for his follow-up 'Honey' which is out now.

So let's talk about it, shall we?

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HITS exclusive: "Anne Next Door" by Thorge

Hey guys,

The wait is over!
The exclusive acoustic sessions are back, they even have a new intro which I'm really excited for you to see.

Earlier this month I went to Berlin again and of course every Berlin trip is linked with work for house in the sand. This time my friend Seija set up a meeting with musician of the day, Thorge.

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Interview: Venture

 Hey guys,

It's been a while since the last interview but don't worry, there will always be some talkative insights as interviews are probably my favourite posts to produce.

This time the band Venture from Wigan, UK sat down to answer a few questions I had.

The acoustic/ska punk five piece consists of:
Lucy Burrows (vocals)
Miles Burrows (guitar, vocals)
Mike Hargreaves (drums)
Josh Fairhurst (bass)
Thom Mutch (guitar)

Find out what Venture say about starting out as a band, line up changes, influences, sunglasses and English Language degrees.

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Oh Berlin

 

Hey guys,

Oops I did it again!

Once again I got myself some flight tickets to Berlin, my favourite city in this whole wide world.

I met up with the beauty that is Seija from The Nothern South and let's just say - it was brilliant.

We shared a hotel room and had enough space to invite 3 other people to sleep there - (but we didn't, don't worry, Mum!)

I decided to share some of my impressions with you. I actually did not get to film a lot like I did last time but there are still a few shots that shall take you along. 

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Song Of The Day: 'Salvation' by Gabrielle Aplin

Hey guys,

Do you guys have that artist you just can't get bored of? You know, a voice you can hear whenever, an album you don't think you'll ever grow tired of?
I'm sure some of you do.

And of course, since I'm writing this intro, I do, too.

Last year around this time I was introduced to Gabrielle Aplin, a singer/songwriter from Bath, UK. I instantly bought her debut album 'English Rain' and even after a year of listening to it, I still find new bits to treasure.

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Album Review: 'Firstage' by Stage Republic

 Artist: Stage Republic
Title: Firstage
Genre: Alternative, Pop

Label: Adventuring - Zwaardmusic
Release: 1st July 2014
hits rating: 7.5/10

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Hey guys,

Holidays are over! I spent this week off very wisely and had the best time, but I'll tell you about everything I did in another post.

Starting work again can be a bit overwhelming (100 emails to go through isn't the easiest thing to do indeed) but if there's good music to play it's a lot more bearable.
Thankfully my job is it to listen to music and review it.

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Video Of The Day: 'Other Lives' by Florida Room

Hey guys,

It seems like a lot of you are enjoying those 'Song Of The Day' and 'Video Of The Day' features.
And I really enjoy writing them, so I think those are good conditions to keep a certain feature going, right?

Our video of the day is by a band called Florida Room.
The quartet from East London, UK formed about two years ago and has established a steady growing fan base due to their great indie sound.

Florida Room consist of:
Frazer Twyman
Jelle Ijsbrandy
Martin Moore
Michael Perera

The guys filmed the video themselves and did a really good job!

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Song Of The Day: 'Satellites' by Alex Stockley

Hey guys,

a friend of mine once called me "a real champion for new music" and in danger of sounding like a total brag ... I sometimes feel like a champion for new music, because 90% of the time the music finds me.

There are these incredible artists who contact me and whenever I find something I honestly love, I feel like a champion because I can share it with you guys here.

Alex Stockley, the artist behind today's song of the day, is a twenty year old musician from beautiful London, UK. His sound is influenced by other Brits such as Tom Odell and Ed Sheeran and musicians from the other side of the pond - Bruno Mars for example. So you could classify him as a pop singer/songwriter.

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Spotlight On: Sound Of The Sirens

Hey guys,

Folk rock, a genre that almost always gets me. I don't know what exactly it is about it that really fascinates me, but it just does. 

If the folk rock sound includes beautiful harmonies it's safe to say that the band has already won me over.

Sound Of The Sirens absolutely represent everything I look for in a folk rock duo.

 Abbe Martin and Hannah Wood are the two ladies behind the duo from Exeter, UK. 

I just recently found their album 'A Long Way To Fall' and their newest EP 'Under The Stars' in my letter box and got fairly excited.

After listening to the songs I already realized that there's not a single let down or disappointment included.

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Thank You

Hey guys,

I've got a question: do you mind cheesy people?
Like the ones who get super excited about certain things or are thankful for opportunities and friendships and just always have the need to tell the whole world about it?

If you do mind these people - please click the red [x] in the right corner now because apparently I am such person.

And today I just to take some time to kind of thank you.

See, I constantly feel like I can't thank the people who support house in the sand enough.
Last month exactly 53 356 people visited this very website of mine.
THAT'S CRAZY!

But I am so thankful for that. 

On top you see a drawing I just recently received. It show reflects the blog's main features: journalism, photography and the love for music.

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