Marley Blandford's Shooting Star takes off from The Rifle Club

Rising local star Marley Blandford is celebrating the release of his first original material for two years with a hometown show next week.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Jul 2016, 06:02 BST
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 18:34 BST
Singer-songwriter Marley BlandfordSinger-songwriter Marley Blandford
Singer-songwriter Marley Blandford

The young singer-songwriter, who is also the reigning WOW247 Solo Act Award winner, is putting out the four-track EP A Shooting Star Ain’t A Sign Of Love next Friday.

‘I did a little self-release of some home-recorded demos,’ explains Marley, ‘but that was back around Victorious 2014.’

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He had released his debut album Shine On at the start of 2014.

‘I just really wanted to release something as I had the buzz off releasing the album. Even though I didn’t really promote it, people still know the songs off it, which is cool.

‘But this is the first new music since then – it’s been ages.

‘Most of the songs had been around for a while. They’ve all had a tasty little revamp since I first wrote and recorded them at home.’

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Working with sound engineer Dave Loughran at his studio in Gosport, they rebuilt the songs.

‘Everything’s a bit different, one has lap steel, one has choir harmonies going on, some of them have strings, There’s a different feel to each of them – carefree vibes, a festival singalong vibe, and then On and On, which is laidback and inspired by Jason Mraz.

‘Dave’s a brilliant sound engineer – he really knows his stuff.’

And for the gig, Marley will be playing with his own band.

‘It’s going to be full band like the songs on the EP. I’ve got a good friend of mine, Liam, in on guitar and he’s brought everything to life, it’s crazy.

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‘The majority of the time when I’m performing it is just me – I might be jamming with a friend or drumming with a band, but I’ve only played my own stuff with a band about four years ago.’

And Marley hopes the band will become a permanent fixture of his live shows.

‘Oh, big time,’ he says. ‘Just having the musicians in to help you out makes the world of difference, and the guys I’ve got in are top notch, it’s going to be awesome.

‘I just picked my Portsmouth supergroup, and everyone said yes.’

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Support comes from Jerry Williams and Remedysounds, with DJ Lemon spinning the tunes until 2am. Tickets are £10, including a CD copy of the EP.

Rifle Club, Fratton

Friday, July 22

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Related topics:GosportTickets