music journalism techniques

IDLES JOY AS AN ACT OF RESISTANCE PARTISAN RECORDS IDLES latest album was released in August this year, with the pressure from the massive success of their first album fans were unsure of how the band would top it. Of course they went and created the best album of 2018 and spoke about some pretty hard hitting issues that rocked the world as well. This album is bringing post-punk back into the 'mainstream', debuting at number 12 in the charts and hitting number 8, their message of saving the social values we hold was reaching millions. Saving the NHS and loving one another being shouted at the people over insanely well written instrumental makes the message behind the music as well as the actual music my favourite album of 2018 if not my entire life. COURTNEY BARNETT TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL MILK!, MOM+POP RECORDS, MARATHON ARTISTS Courtney Barnett released her fourth album in May of this year, 'tell me how you feel' is comprised of beautifully human lyrics ...

FOREVER ALWAYS PETER COTTONTALE FT. CHANCE THE RAPPER, DANIEL CEASER, REX ORANGE COUNTY, MADISON RYANN WARD AND YEBBA. PETER COTTONTALE ‘Forever always’ is a collaborative masterpiece featuring up and coming young artists and songwriters. Seeing all these artists together on one track you may not know what to expect, personally I thought it would sound too mashed together to include these popular names, but their different voices blend perfectly over the dreamy keyboard, jazzy guitar and church like choir.  LET ME DOWN JORJA SMITH FAMM ‘Let me down’   by Jorja Smith featuring Stormzy is a song that hit me like a tonne of bricks. When I first heard this song her silky vocals had me melting and when I read further into the lyrics I wanted to cry, you can hear her emotions while she sings these words. Stormzy   fits perfectly into the track, you know when someone just throws a rapper into their song to get more recognition (*cough* ‘Girls like you – Maro...

I'm going to start with a ego-booster, Rocksbackpages wrote a biography page about you, and they described you as 'hugely influential on a whole generation of new critics'. How did you become 'hugely influential'? I don't think I've been influential, I changed a few peoples heads about hip hop music and about how seriously it should be taken. What I have done is helped other writers get work and get their voice through. I remember a lad called Stevie Chick who used to write me letters at melody maker and I loved his writing and I just said 'look Stevie just phone up and say i'd like to try to write' and he did and he now has loads of books out and he's had a great career and that makes me feel massively proud. Your breakthrough came after sending Melody Maker a letter moaning about their writing, did you expect them to come back saying write for us then? Did you expect this career to come out of that? No, thats like an 8 year old kid wr...