Previewed: ILuvLive at Zombie Shack

Two Manchester artists, Geko and Laura White, will feature on ILUVELIVE’s PRS Hotlist Tour when it comes to Manchester’s Zombie Shack.  The tour showcases some of the upcoming and newly signed artists of the year.

What is iluvlive?

Iluvlive is a not-for-profit foundation funded by Arts Council England and supported by PRS for Music Foundation.  The foundation has been running for eleven years, starting off as a London based showcase.  The organisation has supported the likes of Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah, Emeli Sande and Katy B to perform, often with their own house band.  They give many acts the opportunity to perform with a live band for the first time and aim to provide a platform for artists to perform, collaborate and network.

Iluvlive now hosts more than fifty events per year and receives applications from over sixty new artists every month.  The organisation also runs an annual artist development programme as well as a record label and management arm.

Who is playing at iluvlive?

The Manchester iluvlive show in September is headlined by the city’s own Geko with special guest Laura White.  Also performing are SNE, Matt Wills, Autumn Sharif and Jords.

Geko

Geko (pictuerd above) is a 20-year-old artist of North African descent from Manchester who started writing raps at just 10 years old. However it was two years later at the tender age of 12 that he started taking music seriously and became the online and youth phenomenon he is now.

By 17, Geko and manager Shaz had created their own record label ‘One Tape Records’. Singles include ‘Baba’, ‘Love Me’ and ‘Over & Under’ and ‘Heartless’ reached number 9 on the iTunes chart. Being of Algerian and Libyan decent Geko experimented with afrobeats and his track ‘Baba’ has had over 9.6 million views on YouTube. His talent is now being recognised across by a larger audience exemplified when videos for ‘Y’, and ‘Drunk on You’  reached over a million views.

The One Tape Records YouTube channel itself has reached over 49 million views in total and with so much achieved at such a young age, it is exciting to see where his career will take him in the years to come. @RealGeko

Laura White

Having already caught the attention from the late Amy Winehouse, Adele and Chris Martin, Laura
White is set to make 2017 her own. Born and raised in Greater Manchester, singer-songwriter Laura
White unveiled her EP The Painted Door in February on iluvlive Records.  The EP includes singles Martha and That Girl co-written with DJ and record producer Jonas Blue. The Painted Door is true authentic soul combined with Laura’s brilliant song writing ability. The EP debuted at 4 on iTunes R&B / Soul chart, 38 on iTunes album chart and 52 in the Official UK album chart. Laura completed a headline UK tour taking in Manchester, Bristol, Leicester and Leeds in Feb/March 2017, selling out in her hometown of Manchester a month in advance.

In the past six years Laura has written with world renowned producers Steve Booker, Cutfather, Sigala, F Block, Jonathan Quarmbly and The Invisible Men, as well as writing for the likes of Paloma Faith, Rudimental, Rita Ora and Charles Hamilton on ‘NY Raining’ which featured on the hit TV show Empire.

Laura also co-wrote and featured on the Top 20 hit ‘Love On Me’ with Galantis. She is currently writing with Naughty Boy and will be featured on forthcoming singles from Example and Brunelle. @Laurawhiteoffic

SNE

SNE aka (Sound Never Ends) is a patriot to his hometown East London. He has coined himself ‘Hackneys Golden Child’ and continuously creates and grafts to become the best in his lane. SNE’s music is a fusion of different genres and ‘vibes’ creating a sound he describes as ‘Trillful’. Between 2009 and 2011, SNE was a member of the Grime collective “S.O.S.” (Sound Of The Streets), performing at the BBC and taking well-known stages such as, Hackney Empire and the 02. Now solo for five years, SNE has released two acclaimed projects, ‘I.0.U’ and ‘Essence’ along with a handful of quality singles, including ‘Rico Rodrigo’, ‘Tell Me (Team Like Us)’ and ‘Tiana Major’. @SNE_UK

Matt Wills

Hot on the heels of supporting Bastille on their worldwide tour and featuring on Wilkinson’s new single We Will Be, singer songwriter Matt Wills releases Emily and recently headlined London’s Omeara. “Emily” was premiered on Radio 1 by Abbie McCarthy (standing in for Huw Stephens), and follows the release of Matt’s Hurricane and Set You Free EPs.  Showcasing a new side Matt Wills’ signature style, Emily sees him layer sincere, heart-felt lyrics over a fusion of lush electronica and a subtle piano melody to create something original, touching and undeniably compelling. @MattWillsMusic

Autumn Sharif

21 year old singer/songwriter Autumn Sharif recently released debut single “5AM”. The up tempo pop-soul anthem combines stylistic inspiration from 90s icons Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston with lyrics that touch on the challenges she experienced reaching the quarter finals of The Voice in 2015.

Born and raised in Dordrecht, Netherlands, Autumn has been writing songs and crafting her vocal skills since she moved to London with her family at the tender age of 8. After picking Ricky Wilson as her mentor on The Voice, Autumn struggled with being thrust into the media spotlight but has recently been developing her sound and plans to release an EP imminently.  @AutumnSharif

Jords

Jordan Edwards-Wilks , better known by his stage name Jords , is a Croydon rapper/songwriter who has earned his stripes by being an effortless talent; combining clever lyrics with raw emotion and thought provoking concepts.

Whilst releasing his EP “ About Time ” to critical acclaim, the eclectic vibe and energy Jords’ brings to the stage landed him support slots on the UK tours of The Parades, The Lovable Rogues and Tom Mann, performing at several festivals; YouTube HQ and Jack Wills HQ along the way. Jords most recently received support from Ne-Yo for his work with Sonna Rele.  His ability to captivate an audience with his impressive wordplay has allowed Jords to work with many esteemed
artists (such as Bridget Kelly, Sonna Rele, Bonkaz, Anjelo Disons, Tom Mann and Thea Gajic ) as a rapper, singer, writer and producer, steadily building a portfolio of inspiring, thought provoking music.

Jords released his debut album Means To An Ends, in September 2016 to high praise from media and supporters alike. His album led him to be invited to play sessions such as Sofar Sounds and The Mahogany Sessions, as well as performing at St. Paul’s Cathedral and a sold out headline show at Camden Assembly. @JordsOnline

Where and when is the iluvlive showcase in Manchester?

Iluvlive comes to Manchester’s Zombie Shack on 17 September 2017.