London Girl Goes To The Grammys

...And we don't mean Adele. Adele's now recognisably warm seat at the Grammys may have been a sure-fire guarentee as the current Brit that shifts the most albums - by the shed-load as she still sits comfortably in the top 40 with second album '21' rising back up eleven places on the chart to this week's number 22. Just when you thought her time was finally up, almost two years and two months after its first release in the UK Adele's now legendary sales records have made her a British export in her own right with two multi-platinum albums and a 2013 Grammy to boot. But then you probably already knew all that, or bored to tears of hearing it anyway. 

                 
Step up Beaux Saunders. This little known Jazzy Popper who first caught our attention at an intimate London gig in 2010 (golden-treasure-discovered-at-bottom-of.html) is now blossoming into a pop starlet to be reckoned with. Truly proving that social media has greatly expanded the chances for opportunity, Beaux's manager (Idle Management) stumbled across American producer Daniel Snyder on twitter and asked him whether he had any music in the range of 'pop with elements of country and gospel'. An exchange of emails later and out pops big, perky soul belter 'Ain't That Beautiful'. A few other muscial gems in between and Snyder submits the first track to the Akon-assisted Hitlab Emerging Artist Competition in November 2012. Coming from a website that predicts a song's hit potential it compares different variables with songs that have been hits in the past, Beaux's 'Aint That Beautiful' got a whopping 95%. An appealing verdict for a song gets 70%. Although any kind of technology that predicts a song's commercial ability sounds quite far-fetched to most, it obviously worked out for Beaux as she shot straight into the top ten finalists after a tough judging process. A final round of world-wide voting from Beaux's dedicated and new fanbase was just what this 22 year old West London girl needed to place her in third place and take her to the biggest music awards show in the world, The Grammys 2013 in Los Angeles, USA on the 10th February. After this whirlwind experience of glitz and glamour that most singer-songwriters can only dream of which included a performance of her own at Grammys week, we caught up with Beaux to find out all the gossip!

How are you feeling after the Grammys experience?!

Overwhelmed to be honest. The experience as a whole was surreal.

We're not surprised, what an incredible opportunity. What was your biggest highlight? (There must have been a few!) 

Indeed there were a few. Walking the red carpet was a real insight into how celebrity's operate and just how hectic it is on a minute to minute basis. Also going to Bruce Springsteen's party and having him metres away was insane!




We would have loved to have been at that party. Which music stars did you get to see/meet? 
Well Bruce Springsteen, Taylor swift, Mumford & Sons, Beyonce, Jay-Z and Katy Perry to name a few!








Wow, who knew you would be in such company weeks before! What was it like meeting Akon? 
I was terrified going into the studio but once I was in there it was cool. I just kept telling myself that he's a normal guy and he was once starting out like I am now.


Sounds like the best way to deal with it. What are you working on now that you're back on home turf in London?  
Pretty much have been in the studio everyday since I've been back! Have been working on new material as I got so much inspiration from being in LA.


We're sure that LA inspiration will last a long time, can't wait to hear it. What can we expect from your new music? 
It's pop mainly but there's country, jazz and gospel in there. That sounds MAD but I promise you it works.








Sounds exciting to us! Who and what inspires you when writing and performing your own music?  
In songwriting everything is inspiring from a jingle you hear on an advert to heavy metal. But if I had to choose I would turn to Carol king for good old great songwriting, Fleetwood Mac for being just well the best band of all time, Joni Mitchell if I'm down in the dumps, Hall & Oates/Mayer Hawthorne/Paul Simon if I'm feeling up and Counting Crows if I fancy some light country music.


Can't hear any heavy metal influences shining through just yet! When did you start taking music seriously as a career? 
It took me a long time to realise that I could do what I love and that could be my job, it didn't seem real but properly about 2 years ago when I got management. I could never manage myself, I'd be useless!


Sounds like you must have some good backing behind you. What is the greatest achievement you hope to achieve in your career?  
Aha I was discussing this today in the studio. Hearing my song on Eastenders. That's the actual truth!








Now that's a moment we would love to come true for you, we're sure you'll have it on record if it happens. Any idea when we can expect your next shows and new music? 
I've got all new songs, so the live set is dramatically different and the new music...I'm not even sure - I'm so busy. Watch this space!


Can't wait! Thank you for taking the time out of the studio to speak to us Beaux, good luck with the recording and we'll be ready to freak out when we hear the new material. Let's have a listen to that infectious song that got her there again, 'Ain't That Beautiful'...

The Beaux Saunders Buzz Is Growing

Beaux Saunders

Pop/Soul/Jazz
SoundCloud
Facebook
Twitter

You know that feeling when you hear a song for the first time and it hits you like BAM! You then have to hear the song again, and again, and again. It has you hooked. 'Tied Down' had that very same effect on me when I first heard it. I'd come home from a weekend away in Bath, was catching up on the latest Beaux Saunders news, and out from SoundCloud comes this song I mistakenly hadn't taken note of before. No song could have complimented the sunny Sunday afternoon better, with its positive, bobbing piano and guitar melodies, intertwined by Beaux's charmingly warm vocals. The production is absolutely perfect with the backing vocals and quirky noises encapsulating the unique enchantment of the Beaux Saunders sound. Currently the young singer/songwriter's most played SoundCloud track at 475 plays, this figure will increase much higher over the year as new fans grasped from the gigging circuit (and myself) keep reaching for that play button. Enjoy.

  Tied Down by BeauxSaunders

NMU first wrote about Beaux Saunders after seeing her live back in December. Since then she has had several successful shows at The Troubadour, the Jack Wills' Summer Polo Event and the prestigious Ronnie Scott's of which I attended. Beaux Saunders fans were an abundance and it was obvious who the main attraction of the night was. Her refreshing style and backing band arrangement had impressively enhanced her set with a fuller, richer sound. The 30/40 person strong crowd embraced her repertoire with cheers and hollering, whilst refusing to let her leave without an encore. Beaux's track 'Ain't That Beautiful' was a definite highlight and is an ideal choice of a debut single should she release one in the near future. Watch below a feature on Balcony TV where Beaux and her band give a delightful acoustic rendition of the track.



Beaux Saunders has a gig at Union Chapel on Friday night supporting 60's icon Melanie, which is guaranteed to be a stand out performance of her career so far, in the wonderful church venue that has been graced by countless music stars in the past. In terms of intimate venues, it doesn't get any greater than this. For an enjoyable night out, grab your tickets here. More Beaux Saunders gigs are to be announced soon enough so keep locked on to the Beaux Saunders buzz!

Golden Treasure Discovered At The Bottom Of The Hideaway

Wednesday, 1st December 2010- 'Takeover Night' at The Hideaway, London


Beaux Saunders
www.myspace.com/beauxsaunders
Pop/Soul/Jazz

From an event that has spawned artists such as recent successes Eliza Doolittle, Mumford & Sons, and 2011 tip Jamie Woon, Beaux Saunders sets her sights on joining herself to that very list one day in the future. Beaux is quickly winning over a promising group of admirers, including the celebrity backing of Matthew Followill from Kings of Leon, plausibly describing Beaux's music as simply 'awesome'. Also noticeably keen to give praise is the ex-keyboardist of Bob Marley. Now a vocal coach, he exclaimed that Beaux's music was 'amazing' as he managed to hear her recording in the studio. Now under the wings of Idle Management, Beaux Saunders has encouragingly been in high demand to perform at London venues, with hopes of one day finding her big break.


On the first evening of December, snow fell in an Arctic blow outside the intimate venue of The Hideaway, shimmering with an array of music discoveries in North-East London. After the sombre relationship woes of Kal Lavelle  accompanied by strumming guitar, and the reedy, folk tones of Matt Witt, the settled crowd sat anticipating an uplifting sound to fully energise the evening. Dressed all in black, a young lady of 20 with long blonde locks and rosy red lips sat intently behind a keyboard in the spotlight, poised and willing to showcase her talent. As the first inviting chords of 'Backbone' came into play, what followed was a quality smooth vocal that eased us to attentiveness. Instantly her voice had a distinctive quality that harked back to the sultry jazz singers of the 50's and if likened to a chocolate it would easily be Galaxy, a soul fuelled sound that melts you into an immediate state of acquiescence. Self penned tracks 'Check Mate', 'Somebody' and 'Worth The Fight' are well received by an applauding audience, followed by a short pause to thank the fellow musicians for joining her 'Takeover Night'. To conclude an enjoyable first half to the longest set of her career so far, came an unexpected cover of R. Kelly's 2005 number one smash 'Ignition', suddenly recognised by modern pop fans in the room. Vocally, the cover is sung with the appropriate soulful rolls, though Beaux manages to truly make it her own by taking the alternative acoustic approach. The song choice managed to prove that sometimes the best cover versions are those performed by artists of contrasting genres, with the capabilities of providing a totally different spin on a song's original form. An occasional joke and honest tale from the confident songstress succeeds in keeping the audience intrigued throughout the full forty minutes of the set. The track 'I'm Not Leaving You' follows swiftly, infused with emotive, heartfelt lyrics that suggest Beaux's song writing is crafted with an expression of real, personal emotion. Her songs uncover what you expect every girl at the tender age of twenty-three to be to troubled by, their hopes, troubles and wishes. It becomes clear that the earlier half of her set is filled with songs of emotional catharsis, whilst the latter half convey happier times of rising above her bothering thoughts. 'Holding The Gun', which she confesses was written about a friend's boyfriend who acted like an 'utter arsehole', is a stand out lyrical moment that possesses the commercial appeal to be a potential future single. The track is performed with the passion and class of an artist who appears to display far more experience than the novice she secretly is. A final two songs, 'All The Delights' and 'I Love Paris' are complimented by Hubie Davison (son of Chris De Burgh) on guitar, as Beaux sits high on a stool for all to see. After winning over the room with a delightful set of ten crowd pleaser's, a few unprecedented heckles from fans wanting more edges Beaux to return to the keyboard once again, for a cover of Ed Harcourt song 'Apple of My Eye'. With the evening brought to a wonderful close, the audience applaud joyfully for the singer-songwriter who shows hopeful signs of progressing much further in the music industry. 


Beaux oozes a confident stage presence that is essential for handling the hard gigging life of ups and downs, and the fact she phoned in a couple of pals to replace snow bound singer-songwriter David Gibbs, shows venues she is as artist they can gratefully rely on. A strong backing band is sure to help her performances blossom further on bigger stages to come. An ideal step for the young starlet's future would be a lucrative spot on Jools Holland's Later show, which would provide the kick start to a singing career she truly deserves. Other foreseeable opportunities would be probable TV advert sync deals (M&S, John Lewis etc) that would be greatly complimented by Beaux Saunders' appealing feel-good sound. Those present at The Hideaway were lucky enough to attend Beaux's last gig of 2010, but she returns with a few performances early in the new year to win over yet more fans with her enchanting musical abilities.