Cal and Brad, members of Two Skies taken by Ink Blots
Following the success of their debut song ,Another way , their new single loser echoes the insecurity of adolescence, the difficulty of finding love when you’ve been told you’re not good enough and persevering on the same path in the hope of finding different outcomes.
Loser By Two Skies
Loser, to me, is about finding someone that loves you despite your flaws, so much so that they are not seen as flaws anymore and just part of who you are, another element to be loved.
It’s fitting then that their name, Two Skies, was inspired by a quote in Forrest Gump a film about the unpredictiabillity of life, embracing the challenges faced and finding love despite it all.
Inspired by greats such as Bruce Springsteen, Dayglow, Sam Fender it is no suprise that their songs are already such a hit. Two skies materialised tfrom a discussion between it’s members Cal and Brad, 10 years ago, in a macdonalds car park aided by radio one and chicken selects, but officially formed in February 2021.
Initially just two lads with a dream formed in year 8 to 79 monthy listeners on spotify,two songs already released and a live gig planned at Rivfest Warrington, Sunday 8th of August,it is likely we’ll hear them on Radio one soon, so if you’ve ever been in love but not felt good enough then this tune is for you.
For those of you who are hoping to achieve similar milestones, Brad said “Never stop writing, try to evolve your sound and be prepared to be knocked back 100 times before you get anywhere, but most importantly have fun with it”.
Sarah calls herself an ‘accidental musician’ for she never intended it to go anywhere but after finding music in her youth, secretly stealing her dad’s guitar and writing songs as a story to herself, she soon took her talent to open mic nights where her confidence grew she began networking and now she’s releasing another single ,’Grow’, tonight at 9pm.
Grow By Sarah Hughes
Sarah makes music more human by embracing the flaws of the sound. Her new single ‘Grow’, which will be released tonight at 9pm and available on all streaming platforms, is her cinsostent with her ethos of remaining authetic.
Born in the aftermath of struggles with her mental health ‘Grow’ came to life when Sarah was in the studio wtih Phillip Ball initally to record an EP wiht her band. The beauty of this new release comes in its raw nature, it evokes finding acceptance within the brutality and vulnerability that comes with being honest.
For her music,is ‘a lense to percieve the world with’, making sense of everything it throws at you in order to deal with it. Although the music,once released, is owned by her fans she says ” it’s not about being recognised its about the process” she does hope her fans can resonate with the sincerity of her lyrics but also find their own meaning.
The intimate imagery her music evokes plays true to the sound of her folk band ‘The Curiosity Band‘ which has some upcoming live events; a Festival in Leadenham and another in Nottingham called the Eats and Beats festival. Whilst remaining unique as a creator it is clear that her inspirations such as Phoebe Bridges, Laura Marling and The Nationals have influenced her sounds and lead her to creating her own style.
For a muscian to want to be remembered as a ‘flawed indiviudual who found a way to cope with life’s hurdles through song’ shows how real and raw she is which is why her songs are so powerful especially ‘Level 3’ and ‘God thinks I’m dirty’ which can be found on spotify with the rest of her work . Today’s culture encourages perfection without showing the diffciutlly of achieving even close to that defintion, then when you get there you realise it’s impossible as everyone’s definiton of perfect is different. Be perfect to one person, yourself. This is why Sarah said she wants to use her songs to “convey that [she’s] made mistakes, [she’s] stumbled and that’s okay’. It is in recognsing and embracing our flaws that we ‘evolve as humans’.
As well as being a singer,songwriter, self taught guitarist and bandmember Sarah is the proud owner of a vast shoe collection, she prefers to post “photos of shoes over selfies” her most famous pair, which have been donned Shughe’s Shoes are her white converse. Interestingly some people will greet her shoes beofre greeting her, that’s fine with Sarah though as she likes to find ‘joy in the mundane’ we may even hear a shoe themed EP soon
“Aligning Fires”, his latest extended play, discusses milestones in one’s life and shared journeys. Our paths might be isolated, but they are all connected.
Aligning Fires is about reflecting on oneself in a way that a listener can also interpret. Ben said he “found it comforting to know what I’ve written about is a collective experience. There’s nothing more powerful than a song that allows you to empathise with the person between the notes”.
A similar message is echoed in a quote by one of his inspirations,singer Aretha Franklin “If a song is about something I’ve experienced or that could have happened to me it’s good but if its alien to me I wouldn’t lend anything to it because that’s what the soul is about”.
Ben’s first break into the music industry came when he was 13 after finding his mother’s old acoustic guitar in the attic and playing Lego House by Ed Sheeran, a mean feat when the guitar only has three remaining strings! After four years studying Performing Arts at University Ben devlepoed his own style of insightful story telling through the medium of song. He then released his debut extended play Light and shade in 2018. Follow his musical milestones on spotify.
He discussed topics, with me, which he believes are neglected both in music and in conversation; “Self-love is so important. Do not lose yourself while focusing on loving others. Cherish yourself as much as you cherish your family and friends and acknowledge that you deserve as much as everybody else”.
Authenticity and being true to yourself is another of Ben’s passions, yet today doing that can prove difficult as we are all expected to fulfil certain narratives and it is rare that the self Is one of them which is why Ben believes “in order to be our most authentic selves we have to find our niche then use it as a beacon for others to be inspired by
… A lot of people go through their entire lives searching for what makes them happy, some may be lucky enough to find it an early age others find it accidently and there are some still actively looking for it. We are all in the same boat, yet the beautiful moments lie within the connections we make with others, that is what makes every journey special”.
Due to the ramifications of 2020 permeating into 2021 Ben has sadly been unable to plan any live events although he is excited to share some intimate evenings playing at Dubrek Studios in derby on the 10th of July and the Adam and Eve restaurant in Wragby on the 28th of July. His proudest moments include performing at the 2Q festival in 2019 and then at the Rescue rooms in Nottingham, hopefully he will be able to play at them both again soon.
His musical inspirations include John Mayer, KALEO and ,most importantly, his grandad who gifted him his first guitar. He would love to work with Patrick Droney, an American singer, who recently released his debut album ‘state of the heart’ which explores so much held in the heart in a lifetime’ because he sings about “the folding and unfolding of our stories, we are all the same; bound by the burden and blessing of this beating in our chest”.
As well as playing guitar, writing songs and performing hie can also do a mean impression of Kermit the frog and predict the correct time after hours without looking at a clock.
Evolve Music 