Where are you based?
I’m based in lovely Manchester. I worked in London for 10 years but made the move back up North 9 years ago. I still take a work trip to London most months, and it’s always nice to go back for meetings, photoshoots and gigs, but I really enjoy being based up North.
Where do you work? What do you do?
I run my own Music PR agency, bandwagon. I look after both rising and established artists and also work with brands, such as the amazing charity Choose Love. I’ve been a Music PR for over 20 years – my job as a PR is to strategically tell the story of an artist in the right way and in the right places. I’m basically the middle person who connects an artist to the media, but there is a lot more to it than that and there is a great deal of care, thought and attention that goes into the process. I’m very passionate about my job and the people I work with and I love what I do.
What are you listening to?
I am particularly loving Jalen Ngonda right now. His debut album ‘Come Around and Love Me’ released last year is a gorgeous record and I’ve had it on repeat since it came out! I love soul and I think his voice is wonderful.
How do you discover new music?
I hear about new music in lots of ways – hearing brand new artists on the radio (that’s where I discovered Jalen on BBC Radio 6 Music), checking out new music playlists by publications on Spotify, word of mouth recommendations from friends and sometimes discovering a track on Instagram Reels. I also check out the support artists touring with artists I like as they’re often up and coming and it’s a good way to discover them early on.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?
I generally listen to streaming and vinyl. While I’m working, I like checking out playlists on Spotify to discover new songs I might not have heard before. At the weekend, I love to put a record on and listen to the full album from start to finish and it’s always a mix between old and new favourites.
“I hear about music in lots of ways – hearing brand new artists on the radio, checking out new music playlists by publications on Spotify, recommendations from friends and sometimes discovering a track on Instagram Reels. I also check out the support artists touring with artists I like.”
Where do you do most of your music listening?
I largely listen to music at home and also if I am travelling – I also love to get lost in a podcast when I’m on a train. At home, I listen to the radio on my Roberts Radio, streaming on my Bose speaker and records on my vintage Pioneer record player.
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?
Most pre-release music I listen to is from my own artists and these are usually private links for me to hear and share confidentially with journalists. I often get to hear unreleased music if I’m chatting to a label about potentially working with an artist also. I do sometimes check out radio premieres and first plays also on Lauren Laverne or Jack Saunders shows.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
I think it’s easier to listen to snippets of an artist and skip between songs digitally, whereas if you’re playing a record on vinyl, you listen to the whole thing and really take in the record as a whole. I do like how you automatically get suggestions of other artists you might like based on your listening habits when listening digitally!
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
I have a lot of playlists on Spotify and save new artists and new tracks I’ve heard and liked so I don’t forget them. I also save a lot of publications’ editorial playlists so I can easily scroll through them each week and see what’s new.
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
I tend to do this if I’ve heard something I think they’ll like and that’s the same for friends, industry contacts or journalists. This is usually over email or if I’m meeting up with them for a chat. Also if they’re very new and might not have a campaign team around them yet, then sometimes it’s because I think they could be a good fit to work with them!
“My job as a PR is to strategically tell the story of an artist in the right way and in the right places. I’m basically the middle person who connects an artist to the media, but there is a lot more to it – a great deal of care, thought and attention that goes into the process.”
Anything you want to “promote”?
I am working with some really exciting new artists currently, including Paris Paloma (listen to new single ‘my mind (now)’ and Better Joy (listen to new single ‘Dead Plants’), so they’re definitely both worth checking out if you haven’t heard them yet. I also really like a brand new Manchester artist called Georgian.
