London finals of the UK’s biggest music contest– Feedback

London Finals of the UK’s biggest music contest in London took place as the Hayes Beck Theatre welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the latest round of the Live and Unsigned Music Contest. The Beck Theatre provided a great atmosphere for the live shows on the 17th April, with some great guest acts headlining the showcases.

The headline acts taking to the stage alongside Live and Unsigned Regional Finalists in London were the Cancer Bats who entertained the crowd with some rocking tunes and great stage energy. Previous finalists Black Acid Souls also took to the stage, treating the crowd to some of their best rock tunes. Flow Dem Crew also played as a guest act in London, entertaining the crowd with their new hip-hop material. 

Judges presiding over the London music contest Regional Finals included MD & Promoter of K Festival Gary Horn, Iain Baker from NME Radio & Two & Ten Management, Paul Handley from Out of bounds music, Hayes FM’s Aimee McGoldrick, James L'Esteve from Future Music Publishing, Chris Grayston from Future Music Management, and Hayley Coe from K Festival.

The competition was fierce, and the standard was extremely high, well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Congratulations to those that made it through to London & South West Area Final on Sunday 15th May at Beck Theatre, Hayes.

Find below feedback for the day. Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judge panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who performed. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping.

Hayes Regional Finals

Feud- Good solid sound could have engaged more as a band on the original

Moxie- Classic rock, lead vocalist needs to watch tuning and would have benefitted from vocal support from other members of the band

The Freemantle- Good cover choice need to work on collective performance

The Dragon Slayers- For their age awesome and with more performance will improve. Don’t lose the attitude and confidence

Dogstate-Great sound, very proficient, very tight. Killer bass player! Again collective performance would improve a musically tight band

Indiana- Some members of band need to perform more,  as you guys are good and that is the one aspect letting you down. Could also vary it around musically

The Achilles- Need to focus on dynamics, good front man, backing vocals need to find their own voice  

Jordan Moat- Nicely played and nice tone, remember to engage with the audience. Don’t let the nerves get the better of you

Adam Baine- Transition from guitar to piano can sometimes be clumsy, original was a much stronger performance than the cover. Needs to open eyes more to connect with the audience, good image, consider fronting a band!

Hannah Rodgers- Very enchanting performance, nice tone and expression. Original was a good song just need to push through a strong hook, perhaps repeat the hook more with dynamics to drive it through. Gain more experience in front of crowds, as there is fantastic potential for the future

Find Me Next Fall- Lots of energy, but it’s the like the instruments are driving the music, need the vocals to be strong too, front person needs to stamp her personality more on the band and drive the song, not the other way round. Keep practicing!

Iida Pires- If that happens again at the start of your song with the track not starting, don’t look lost- use the opportunity to introduce yourself. Wouldn’t have picked that track which is a karaoke favourite for a competition looking for originality. You let the nerves get the better of you; don’t fiddle with the mic stand. Good voice, but needs practice on technique and tuning. Keep practicing

Michael G. Moore- Looked every part the star, enchanting original song and a clever choice of cover making it his own. Fantastic pianist. Probably needed to lose a few lyrics to give himself space to breathe and slow the track down to fit acoustically

Gavin Kaufman with The SounDelight- Liked the adlibs on the original and cover sounded full. Work on more audience interaction

Junie- Why is the male rapper not on stage for what is a strong song, but male is almost lead. Very nervous and rigid performance.  Beats in the cover were good, but the flute is far too large in the mix

Oliver Mascherenhas- Strong as always, audience engagement is getting better. When talking between songs,make it clear and precise as couldn’t hear what was said. Would also have changed the dynamics on the cover and played around with it more

Project RM- Liked it musically, really full sound and great dynamics, but vocally not strong enough, needs to be worked on or bring in a female vocalist. Front person needs to be much stronger stamp their personality on some quality sounds

Empress- Always got a smile on her face and a good original. Maybe needs more on stage support singers/rapper to give a contrast

Skyz- Didn’t feel a connection, how much of this is live? Needed a more convincing performance. Needs something to make him stand out as original

Short Circuit Device- Liked the guitar work, blended together well to have a full sound, vocals could have cut through stronger as they struggled a little over the instruments

Kemi Sulola- Clearly has a good voice but dynamics to the performance very much on one level, give it some movement to bring it more to life. Could have made the cover more original

Zophia- Original was good but needs spicing with a bit of uniqueness to sound fresh

Malory Torr- Scored very well with the Judges with all the ingredients to succeed; good expression, image to a catchy song but the hook needs another set of chords or twist to maybe stop it being over repetitive.  Very quirky and confident!

Caddy Cooper- Very confident, great interaction with her audience. Great vocals, but lacking slightly in power and definition so keep rehearsing! Could have put more of her own stamp on the cover song

That Darn Sasquatch- Good energy, all performed well. Nice attempt at making your own mark on the cover and good audience participation. Work on material, there’s good potential for the future

L.A. Salami- Really good voice, but didn’t really flow and needed greater dynamics high’s and low’s to bring the track to life. Guitar and lyric pattern are not in sync

Pedro VIII- Not noticing the guitar was too loud really distorted and overwhelmed the sound of the band. Remember to perform to the audience.  Performance was lacking in substance, need communication between band members on stage

Jasmine Knight- Jasmin has potential and a good voice, but needs to watch vocal tuning in places. Not standing out enough as original

Jyoshna- Very distinctive voice and sounded pleasant and would do really well on the folk season. Performance was a little repetitive

Kemi Amos- Tuning issues and no engagement with the crowd.  Watch your footage back

Martin Simmonds- Projected well and looked the part. Pick a cover that suits your range better

pLastiq- Front person is performing but a bit insular and should come to the front of the stage more. Band should work together and interact more. Lots of attitude from the singer and a fantastic guitar solo!

Kristal Sisodia- A confident, engaging and authentic performance. You have style, presence and attitude. Cracking original and cover

Rhode Island Red- Great performance and good lead vocals, but a confusing image with the band image which was slightly dated. Performance also seemed a little dated

Big Bose- Too much audience interaction and too repetitive. Don’t come in front of the monitors as not going to be able to hear yourself. Experiment with a varying rap pitch

The Briefing- Like the use of velocity ramp on the pedals and very easy on the ear. Looked like they were enjoying themselves and sounded great!

S.I.B.- Original was good, cover needed more energy. Keep practicing and work on audience relationship

The Robbie Boyd Band - What a fantastic sound and great choice of cover, which they really made their own. Very enjoyable to see a diverse range of instruments. Great image!

Poetic Justin- What an improvement! Connected well with the cover and dancing was entertaining. Original sounds too low, pitch the song higher to suit his vocal range better. Great performer!

Sister Gracie- A brilliant and unique sound and very well delivered. Loved the drum ‘n’ bass style beats and an engaging performance

The Undecided- Performed well with attitude and a well thought through routine. Keep rehearsing!

For those acts who didn’t get through the Regional Finals, don’t forget to use your Wildcard! All acts have been given a Wildcard in the form of a national public vote. There are two places up for grabs and just two weeks to make your mark, so keep an eye out on the website and get voting for one of those last Area Final spots!

If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to London & South West Area Final on Sunday 15th May at Beck Theatre, Hayes go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows