#HCHQ 💥Made it on to THE BEEB!!💥

LISTEN ☞ HERE

CHECK that lineup!💯 Tonight @CrowleyOnAir kicks off w/@PhoenixMartins PLUS #FeaturedArtist this week is the beaut @cos1ma 🙌🏽✨#BBCIntroducing pic.twitter.com/zeQe7yOfwN

— BBC Introducing Lond (@BBCIntroLondon) March 25, 2017

Very special thanks to Gary Crowley and BBC Introducing in London last night for heading up the second half of his radio show with lil’ ol’ me..truly #humbled. Cake all round I say! 🎉🎂🎂🎂 Link to BBC Introducing Facebook Post

#HCHQ watches Rocktronica Giants (IAM)WARFACE gig, followed by beers, laughs n chats with Huey last Friday at his Blues Kitchen DJ gig in #London’s Shoreditch.

Well it was certainly an interesting night out last Friday, travelling from what is this musician’s native Richmond-upon-Thames up to London’s East End. And its gotta be an exceptionally good cause to get me to do it these days – not least coz its a forty quid Uber ride home!

But it was Brighton band (IAM)WARFACE‘ gig at Brick Lane’s ‘93 Feet East‘ that enticed me, followed by some beer n chats in a Blues Kitchen booth with Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman and BBC Radio 6 DJ Huey Morgan, plus a couple of great lasses from London’s Evening Standard newspaper – well one of them was – the other her bestie, a beautician, whom she’d met attending the Barbara Speake Stage School.

The former was trying her very best to interview Huey, although as he explained to me on my arrival somewhat conspiratorially, he doesn’t really do questions, especially not those that are pre-prepared. That said, he and I shared some interesting talk as regards to what its like being in a war-zone – specifically the Balkans – he in his former capacity as a marine and, “Getting shot at coming up the beach” and me in my capacity as a singer, supporting raising money for child victims of the war. A very ‘real’ conversation topic given our surroundings, in what was a noisy ‘hipster-filled’ London Bar – one way to fend off press questions I suppose.

I loved his set spinning some tunes and true to his tweet earlier, he did indeed “blow the roof off the joint” and even I, who could remember the tunes from the first time around, felt the undisputed urge to groove. Later he disappeared off into the night with the Evening Standard – I’m pretty sure the lady got her story – although I’m not sure her new boss George Osbourne MP, will fully appreciate her tenacity.

All that remains to be said is I loved the (IAM)WARFACE set. This is not a complete review of same, mainly because I was too busy behind a camera filming them, having far too much fun doing that.

What I will say though, is that despite the problems with the venue’s sound (not quite sure what the engineer was doing but the poor sod’s probably only paid a pittance) the band dealt with it very professionally and still managed to offer what was a packed venue, an absolute belter of a show, including all their now familiar rock-tronica tunes: ‘Say My Name’, ‘Bleed Out’ and, ‘Atomic White Gold’ all of which the crowd were singing along to, interspersed with battle cries of: ‘Warface, Warface!” This from a band fielding a new drummer with a broken hand (Chris luv – I’d never have known and I’m loving what you’re doing rhythmically). Frankly, if thats what he’s like when its broken, I can’t wait to hear ’em gig when it ain’t. ‘Vanilla’ and ‘Ed Sheeran’ (IAM)WARFACE are not – Glastonbury…take note.

Hannah certainly hit all the right notes with her audience at Leeds Oxjam 2016 with the Beatie Boys Cover “Fight for the Right Your Right to Party” alongside BBC Introducing’s Alex Hulme.

Hannah Clive, Alex Hulme, Jon Lander. Leeds Oxjam 2016. Via Alex Hulme.

In what was her first foray to music audiences in the north of England Hannah fulfilled a lifelong ambition and played to a packed venue at Leeds Crowd of Favours bar as part of the charity Oxjam Leeds event, which saw multiple music venues taken over for one day throughout the city to raise funds for Oxfam. Hannah has been an active supporter of many of the new young bands and music coming out of the area, whom she came across via her new music explorations on Twitter over the preceding nine months. Consequently it was through these connections that she was asked if she herself would like to perform. Many of the bands whom she supports were in attendance if not on stage with her! Hence how the streamlined, acoustic duet of ‘Fight for your right to party” with Liverpool’s Alex Hulme came about, along with Jon Lander of Leeds own ‘Red Light Revival’ band on guitar.

“I knew we were hitting the right notes when I looked up to a sea of iPhones and flashes going off. That was just the best feeling. Then when I saw some of the footage I had a smile from ear to ear. I really wanted to get it right and make it an enjoyable gig for everyone, not least because some of my supporters had flown all the way from Pittsburgh, USA – no pressure! Hence why I wanted to do a gig in different sections – my new material to back track without me on a guitar, then bring in Jon where we both picked up guitars on some of the fan’s favourites, culminating in bringing on Alex and doing the Beastie Boys duet – on acoustic. It was huge fun and a bit seat of the pants i.e. we hadn’t rehearsed together at all, just discussed it via Whatsapp!

Those gigs on the fly are always the best though I find and I was hugely confident in both Jon and Alex from what I’d heard of them already….and Janis Long’s description of Alex being “a rising star” is not misplaced. All in all it was just fantastic to be able to meet with my Twitter buddies and to perform either with or to those who have supported me and my music. People like indie reviewer Rebecca Singer, EGH Radio’s Anne and Stephen Lambert, Red Light Revival and their brilliant gang including Music Metropolis and Gareth who took some brilliant shots/footage and Dangerhounds, they were all there smiling back at me, it felt like family. So too it was bloody marvellous to hear other bands play – such incredible energy coming out of the north musically  – bands like MINT, Dangerhounds, Brazen, then there’s the ones I caught bits of or wanted to as I raced around the city whilst preparing for my own gig – Erica who came all the way up from the south west to be there, then there was The Floodhounds, Partisan (excellent post-gig buds), Apollo Junction

Canada’s Starlight Music Chronicles release Interview with Hannah: Winner of their October Artist of the Month competition 2016, as featured at Starlight Music Chronicles Magazine for month of October 2016 and nominated by (IAM)WARFACE’S Matt Warneford.

Click here for Starlight Music Chronicles Interview with Hannah

Hannah’s next gig will be at Oxjam Leeds Takeover, October 22nd at Crowd of Favours, Leeds.

On stage: 7:45pm with special guests BBC Introducing’s Alex Hulme

and Leeds own Red Light Revival

#HCHQ is delighted to announce that Hannah Clive was voted Artist of The Month in the North American based Starlight Music Chronicles Competition, as voted for by fans and Judges, she is is now in the running for SMC Artist of The Year 2017.

OFFICIAL #SMC Oct2016 #Artist of the Month is @hannahclive Official roll out October 1st, 2016! Congrats Hannah! pic.twitter.com/sbrPMYuGFV

— Starlight Music (@StarlightMusicC) September 26, 2016

Hannah’s reaction: “This was the first competition I have ever been nominated for and I was very grateful to have been nominated by my industry peers the British band (IAM)WARFACE – who of course won SMC Artist of the Year for 2016. I’ve put in a lot of hard work this year building my relationships with my fans and promoting my nomination – quite aside from my business as a music maker. As modern artists we have many plates to juggle – so this was a tremendous reward for me but mostly I was just so touched by the response of fans and their compliments when I won or as SMC said: “Holy Cow Hannah – you broke Twitter!” All my SN’s went absolutely crazy and I’m still writing back to everyone to thank them. If I haven’t got to you yet, then please be patient! Thank you and I am truly humbled, your support is what keeps me going…”

Winning this competition is just fabulous and will mean interviews and promotions of Hannah Clive by SMC…Hannah’s interview with them will be published shortly so please watch this space. So too she has gig announcement to make soon. Last but not least thanks to everyone for backing Hannah, to SMC and Congratulations Hannah – you did it! #HCHQ

Hannah Clive by @dude_fm

Last week awesome Twitter masters Dude.Fm launched a special Music Feature on Hannah Clive with rolling updates on Hannah’s activities both with her music and her music journalism – @dudefm are rather awesomely providing a one-stop shop for all wishing to find out about Hannah and her music activities.

In describing themselves @dude_fm have this to say: “Yup, we dig Featuring Independent Artists, Bands, Conscious Rappers & Hip Hop, DJ’s, EDM MC’s & Musicians, via MUSIC VIDEOS & SOUNDCLOUD.” And we at #HCHQ can confirm their general awesomeness at doing just that!

So this is our chance at #HCHQ to say a very big thank you indeed to Dude for being well, such dudes and for their patience considering Hannah’s recent impromptu departures into the wilds of the British countryside to recharge her creative batteries.

Dude will be running their feature on Hannah a for a little while longer so please do stop by, take a look and tell your friends. News of same exploded on Twitter last week with tweets reaching audiences in excess of a million so you’d be in good company! Once again a very #supermassive thank you Dude for creating the space for that to happen – we owe you at least one British cream tea (and much ice-cream and cake) for same. Thanks Dude – truly you are awesome.

LINK ☞ http://www.dude.fm/#hannah-clive

Dude.FM on Twitter: @dude_fm

#HCHQ’s experience of meeting with British indie band (Iam)Warface’ and their gig at Into The Wild Festival 2016 – somewhere in a field in middle England…

IamWarface – Into The Wild Festival, UK, 2016

A bit of soul searching and one conflab later with ye lads from the band and various folks gathered in beer tent at Into The Wild Festival and I’ve decided I will in fact write about my first experience of ITWF from the viewer perspective, in true rock n roll spirit I shall defy convention and advice of my Times journalist friend and ‘put myself in it’ – this despite the fact that I’m ‘not a well-known’. A risky business…

The question of whether or not to do so came up in conversation with assorted musical folks gathered about a makeshift trestle table, including half of (Iam)Warface, bits of Surzerain, some bloke who needed a lift back to London (I wonder if he made it) and various others including a King Charles Spaniel – he of course didn’t offer an opinion, he just lay there nonchalantly in a balmy, somewhat beery tent, tethered through the loop of his lead by a screwdriver rather enterprisingly stuck in the ground but which meant that from the wrong angle, it looked like someone might have killed the dog – but for his occasionally blinking eye. “Be different!” came the cry from Matt of Warface “break the mould!” And since that’s exactly what their music does, I shall indeed defy convention and “Put myself in it!”

Although an unknown, my life in music so far as a singer and songwriter has perhaps afforded me a unique perspective particularly when it comes to music and musicians, be it standing there watching ‘Circle of Life’ recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, or stood on the side of the Stage at Red Rocks, Colorado as a guest of The Who tour in America for six months, with a camera thrust in my hands by Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son) and told “Film it!” Yes its fair to say I have been in some extraordinary musical situations in my life, possibly only topped by being asked if I wanted to sing on a Ray Charles record aged 17, saying yes and being told “Good! You’ve got half an hour!” Rather a lot of musical ground has been covered since then including the release of my own material supported by some legendary musicians and production people I’ve met along the way.  But this summer rather seems to involve meeting, getting to know and listening to some rather awesome new British bands in what feels like a British sixties renaissance in that some ground-breaking and original music is being made. Hence how I found myself at the Into The Wild festival – a smallish affair but by no means lacking punch and better for it – somewhere south of my nemesis Milton Keynes – Buckinghamshire, England.

The first relief was no mud, despite the record breaking, wet, soppy, miserable affair we’ve had for a summer so far. Instead the skies cleared – with not a wellington boot in sight! The reason for my being present in this field began in a typically lateral way back at the start of the year via that thoroughly modern entity Twitter – previously an anathema to me – something I hadn’t properly understood but had to learn on account of the impending release of my own music. Back in a cold and miserable January (Lemmy had just died, quickly followed by Bowie) and throughout the ensuing months when seemingly we lost a music great on a weekly basis, I began discovering the music of some brilliant new British indie bands.

With the vague notion in my head that given the state of play in the music industry – there is no state of play, no-ones really sure how to make money at it – that perhaps we as bands should do something radical and support one another; that perhaps to audiences the nature of the music makers were as interesting as the music we made. To whit I began listening to a lot of new music, found various bands that I began cross promoting for no other reason than I thought they sounded really rather splendid. I began to talk to them, some of them talked back, the characters and necessary musicians’ sense of humour began to reveal itself through conversations on Twitter. (Iam)Warface – don’t let the name deter you – were one such band. There are others but for the purposes of this story (Iam)Warface are who we’ll stick with!

So I began exchanging tweets with them, gradually getting to know them, until finally I found myself talking with Matt the lead singer and songwriter of (Iam)Warface on the phone giving him a pep talk. Like many Indies – he was in the shit-this-is-hard-but-I-love-it-but-am-flagging stage! It happens and we as artists need a pick-me-up sometimes, from a brother (or sister) in arms. For various reasons I’d been unable to attend previous Warface gigs up to that point and was very keen to finally see them live. But like most musicians I have to watch the pennies, was on my own and in need of a ticket but not for the whole weekend.

So it was several texts later, I found myself in my car; outside my local train station picking someone up I’d never met before – one of Matt’s old mates – and driving an hour north out of London to the gig! En route I explained to my passenger that I had the ticket, it was for two people and that he was Mr Smith, what his postcode was and how best we could remember that at the gate! “Are you Mrs Smith then?” came the reply from my much-bearded companion, somewhat reminiscent of Cat Weasel only younger. “No – I’m Hannah” I replied, “they’ve already talked with me and I might need to be Hannah later on!”

Onwards up the M1 we drove, somewhere just past Watford Services I was casually informed that my co-pilot had ‘form’ for amongst other things hemp growing – amused I silently ploughed on vowing not to get a “stupid pull” from the Rozzers (police) and trying not to visualise what that might look like if we were stopped! ‘Withnail and I’ sprang to mind. So too I was regaled with the story that my travelling companion had shared the same name with Matt from (Iam)Warface but that Matt “Had changed his name because he kept getting stopped by the Rozzers” as a teenager and “Getting in loads of sh*t coz they thought he was me!” I laughed, “Is that true or is it a band myth?” I asked. “Well that’s what they tell me!” came Cat Weasel’s reply. Unsolicited, the Warface drummer later confirmed this – just prior to him staggering off with a balloon in his hand… and I don’t think he was planning on taking it home with him.

But I get ahead of myself. Having negotiated my own personal hell which is Milton Keynes and it’s named roundabouts, we found ourselves driving on to site across fields, successfully negotiated the check point – both loudly chorusing “Smith!” in unison when asked the name at the gate, me proffering a print out of the e-ticket in a plastic folder (sometimes the old ways are best). We drove onwards and parked up amongst a mixed assortment of vehicles – from campervans, to mini’s to Aston’s (that would be the Glampers).

On Cat Weasel’s advice we opted not to plot up tents by the loo’s or the skip and waited for Mat the lead singer of Warface and his wife Zed to arrive, fresh from a mate’s wedding. Zed rather brilliantly managed to have picked an outfit that translated from wedding to cool festival chic in one go and the pair of them just had the most awesome hair! Matt with his bleached crew cut and short Mohican and Zed with her own 21^st century spin on Bowie’s Star Man only in greys and pinks with flowers in it from the wedding! I later found out that this lovely, dear lady was also a hairdresser – ah that explains the effortless cool I thought. I was very pleased she was there being as I was a gal on my own like and given that I had never actually met either of them in person. Thankfully it became rapidly obvious that the computer exchanges hadn’t lied, we were all of a like mind with Matt exclaiming as they pulled up: “Finally! We meet!” Massive smiles and hugs all round, a surreal experience to be sure but a marvellous one.

(Iam)Warface – Into The Wild Festival, 2016.

Zip forward, beers drunk, tents up, several sharings of ‘Thors hammer’ later (tent pegs), the band are about to go on and again I’m being given a camera – or rather a phone and asked to film it. Something I love to do and it’s kind of in the blood I guess but part of me really wanted to see this band through my own eyes – not a lens. Cat Weasel kindly offers to film the start and then swap with me allowing me to see some of the gig. It begins with the magnetic ‘Bleed Out’ – immediately I’m drawn in, finally hearing the Rocktronica I’ve sat and listened to through the dark early months of 2016. And I am not disappointed. What an opener for a track, the riff is too good and already I’m singing along.

I’m struck by how certain songs carry even better live than I would have expected such as ‘To Die For’ and ‘You Don’t Love me Anymore’, you just have to move your feet to it and shake yer head and sing along with the “Woh-ohs”; the band members blending together seamlessly, grinding out these hypnotic riffs. The classical references – the informed use of dynamics, musical light and shade is not lost on me, but it’s the clever blending and juxta-positioning of different styles that interests and rivets me. I can hear bits of Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nirvana, Sisters of Mercy, Muse and always these catchy riffs ground out by Lou on guitar, over pounding beats and ethereal, layered synths.

For those of you who don’t know (Iam)Warface’s set up it’s live vocals, electric guitar and drums with a series of digital parts and synthesisers administered by the other Matt (Whitehead), tucked away like the bloke out of Pet Shop Boys behind his keyboard and bits of digi’ kit – make no mistake his is a very important layer to the distinctive (Iam)Warface Rocktronica sound. Inexorably the crowd were drawn in to this web and what they were hearing, as the different moods, slants and waves within the songs reached out like fingers over them. ‘Vampire’ was a particularly good track, along with ‘White Gold’ as Matt moved between stage area and floor – amongst the listeners – slowly gyrating his whole body as he bent the notes, at times reminding me of a cat arching it’s back or coiling himself around his mic stand, at others confidently prowling the stage or crowd and, at one point held an impossibly long note that frankly would have put Bill Withers to shame.

As (Iam)Warface performed, other bands – Suzerain included – all drew in towards the stage area gathering to see the unique talent that’s (Iam)Warface and its singer Matt Warneford. Lou Matthews on guitar stood there solid, nodding his head to the drum beat, rightly self-assured of just how good his riffs were, a gentle giant mastering his low-slung guitar, coaxing and sliding out of it some simply stunning sounds. Alex Whibley on drums – all of 22 – with his mod haircut and jacket quite obviously enjoys exactly what he does for Warface – possessing that young man’s impossibly laidback, yet sure-fire youthful air that he really is the best at what he does – and to be fair to the kid, he is bloody good! There’s something a bit Moon-ish about him – or is it that bloke out of Quadrophenia. Either way he’s 22, loving it and why not!

(Iam)Warface – Into The Wild Festival 2016

We were all loving it too and with post-gig high, on we all went into the night – ending with dancing to some serious ska blasting out across the fields courtesy of Skalectrix, hanging with indie band Suzerain too – lovely chaps, thanks for minding my bag whilst I danced to ‘Monkey Man’ and really wished I’d seen them perform – they too were a band I’d already come across in my virtual travels, so meeting and hanging with them was an added bonus…now off on an Italian Tour…lucky Italians 😉 🇮🇹

Suffice to say that the sixties ethos is alive and well in the fields of England and I’ll not lie to you, I like these smaller festivals such as Into The Wild; they retain an intimacy, a trust and a vibe all of their own which very much supports the grass roots and emerging bands I’m pleased to say proliferate in my part of the world. I don’t know what else is happening globally but I gotta tell ya – there’s something very special happening in music right now here in Great Britain and its not X Factor – its real talent, playing real instruments, in real bands. Something I’ve wanted to see for twenty years…how nice to be a part of it and so warmly welcomed. Cheers guys. It was lovely…but not the FartChat, I’m sure that’s why the dog had one eye open!

Band Links:

(Iam)Warface Official Website: www.iamwarface.com

Music: LISTEN HERE

Video: WATCH IT: ‘Say My Name’ Official Video

Store: OWN IT

Twitter: @IAMWARFACE

Facebook: facebook.com/warfacesounds

Festival Link: Into The Wild Festival Official Website

Next band #HCHQ looking forward to seeing ☞ Suzerain

Hannah’s current release ‘Kiss of Life’ hit No 9 in the ReverbNation London chart last week continuing it’s climb from No 27 the previous week. The track is now receiving further new airplay from numerous radio stations including Control Radio Uk, the Indie 365 Network, Radio RKC, EGH Radio featured it again in their #UnsignedMadness show and tonight the track airs on The Lost Broadcast at 8p.m. UK time.

Watch the Revised Video here

All Rights Reserved Hannah Clive 2012

Radio Wigwam:

“…HANNAH CLIVE has established herself as a highly adept singer/songwriter. Her compositions are honest, soul-searching and emotionally charged pieces, where she is often open about her own personal frailties. Among the songwriters she most admires (and to some degree looks to emulate) are Carole King and Kate Bush…” (Radio Wigwam, 2016)

Radio Wigwam