With only 12 days left until our show at Red’s in Shoreditch I thought I had better start introducing myself a bit so y’all could get to know my vibe and decide if you wana come check my creations on the 9th!
12 choons that have sat firmly on my A List whilst I have been excavating my own creative-ness… expect to hear Solange, Allan Kingdom, Kendrick, JMSN, Tamar Braxton, maze and MORE
I am also compiling folders to download on a weekly basis
This week is — Early Divas — Early works from Whitney, Gladys, Solange, Syd and Aretha… yoooo you want these on your lappy or phone darls
email abluecmusic@outlook.com with Choons 1 in the subject line to be added to the mailing list.
This past year or so has seen an influx of cool musicians coming into the city. Both touring and local peeps getting their learn on at BIMM or musicians from all across the UK and europe deciding that Brighton, slightly cheaper than London, is the place for them.
I don’t mean that there hasn’t always been sick heads about – there always has been a pretty high level of musicianship…
The motivation level seems to have increased on the whole in the past year. Seems like people are putting down the sessioning of joints and picking up the high vibes.
QM Records keep putting out some strong bills ( personal favourite so far is Lebeaux – CHOPS FOR DAZE )
The Mesmerist hosts some of my fave players ( Vels Trio who just supported Cory Henry @ Concorde on Halloween) hang about there de temps en temps.
Also, Peter Adam- Hill sets up some pretty sweet ensembles so be sure to check them out when you can – You can head over to my music page to see me sitting in with Pete one night – Alexandra Blue
p.s CORY HENRY @ Concorde 2 was SUCH a good show. He is such a legend and such a nice guy, PLEASE SUPPORT HIM AND HIS APOSTLES to keep it moving and grooving… it’s for the good of the world man! – musically sound and daaayummmm Concorde sound system still bangssssss tho
I have no idea where to start. An experience of extreme dualities that’s for sure.
1.a Great and moving to see some old school footage of Amy, family days, youth orchestra days, being goofy with friends etc etc
b. Not so sure about the clips. seeing as she had no say in what the clips were used for.
2. a. Warmed my heart to hear interviews with her nearest and dearest i.e her 2 best friends from way back exclaiming their love and admiration for Amy and her endeavours.
b. The blame that was subtly laid on a few’s backs through these interviews wasn’t so nice to see.
3.a Super inspiring to me as a singer and songwriter her confidence and love in the craft.
b. how quickly the music industry and culture can turn a bright spark into an addict of unsavoury substances.
4a. Love is beautiful, powerful, inspiring and far reaching.
b. Love can be manipulated into accompanying misery in the name of solidarity.
5.a All families have a past.
b. People that live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones i.e if anyone’s family past get’s into the hands of filmmakers there is always blame to lay, just depends on which way the slant leans.
6.a Crack is wack
b. Crack is still wack… Stop with the comeback y’all, in the past month I have heard it mentioned way too lightly way too often. Brighton needs some TLC on the whole. Cocaine will get boring eventually everyone!
7a. Heartbreak can be a beautiful thing that can benefit mankind.
b. If something has such a positive impact broken, why try to put it all back together again? Amy cut herself too deep trying to mend herself and Blake back together.
8a. The media are OUT OF CONTROL.
b. They must be stopped. Where are the privacy laws?! Where are the people fighting to keep safety first! Who are these rats who can stand by and mock the mentally unwell into a ‘money shot’ for the disgusting Murchocian media.
I love her all the more after getting an insight into her personality and surroundings. I know she was a drug addict, and I know she was an alcoholic, I know she smoked weed and I know she was reckless with her commitments and time. I do believe everyone around her tried to save her as best they could, and I do believe that both of her parents wanted the best for her. From the documentary it seemed like she had suffered too much damage in a short space of time that she was always going to be a young departure, but I do believe that there is more to this particular story. Too much money flying around the place for it to be mess-free I’m afraid!
I remember where I was when I heard, it was my mum’s birthday and we are both massive fans. I cried and still cry about the sadness of her passing, and believe she had a ton more to give if only she would have pulled through her twenties.
Grateful is not the word, I am honoured to have existed at the same time as her. Everything I have learned from her fall I will take forward with me and keep keeping an eye on my nearest and dearest as best I can.
p.s Thankyou Amy Winehouse for your truth, beauty, perspective, heart and art!
This morning I was lucky enough to stumble upon a snippet from the above talk at Yale with Lady Gaga for Emotion Revolution. LG was on form, doing her best to instill inspiration and compassion towards one another, starting with basic interactions in our everyday life.
Standard greetings can be the question ‘How are you?’ or, in the UK it is most common to hear ‘Hi, You alright?’ (pronounced Hiyur ~rite – lol) let’s not be standard with our responses alllll the time…
We are ‘busy’ in our lives and we don’t have ‘time’ for emotional breakthroughs ‘all of the time’, but let’s be real babes.
It doesn’t even have to be a painful or negative emotional response, the reply could simply ‘ yo waddddupppppppppppp’ 😀 or ‘Oh no I shouldn’t have just
(yes I did mean to not finish that, I always
Anyway…
Lady Gaga’s words really inspired me and I hope they inspire you too.
I am inspired to be…
Honest.
Open.
Deep.
Careful.
Kind.
Emotional inquisition can cause rifts in relationships, we never mean to go into unchartered waters but I, for sure, always seem to stumble onto dangerous ground.
On the flip side, the depth accidentally lead me to a nourishing practice. I discovered Yoga in the darkness and through the initial vanity based infatuation I started to clear streams for the light, and it wasn’t long before I was using it to evolve instead of punish ( my inner narrative became increasingly kind and loving instead of berating and cruel towards myself and others )
I had to sit lovingly in my pain, in my heartbreak, in my own messy web that I had created since my yout. By learning to be in the moment and present, I started to check in with myself honestly, and surprisingly discovered a twinkling of genuine clarity and peace!
If and when you can, plant seeds of stillness all over and all over each other. The pain may (probably will tbh) come first, but things can seem worse before they are better! PROMISE
Thank God, The Universe, My Family, Yoga, Music, and everything that stopped my spiral before I even browsed the brochure for membership of the 27 club (RIP The Great Minds who were unlucky).
If you love RnB – Think a more intricately produced JT Album!
One thing I do love about being in the UK as oppose to NYC is the amount of new (and interesting) music that is floating around restoring my faith in the Industry. Obviously I LOVE New York and love living in Brooklyn when I can, but in terms of being a bit daring or a bit out of the box with music it doesn’t seem to be as heralded as over here, well Brighton specifically.
I am writing this still in recovery from a very successful PRIDE weekend down here in Brighton, UK.
Brighton always comes all the way out in full force to support the LGBT community.
My home City shuts down main roads, parks, fountains, buildings, shops, houses, roofs and everywhere else in favour of partying and celebrating freedom to be whoever the freak you feel like. This year was the first year I was around to enjoy the full weekend, and I had an absolute blast.
Glitter – obv.
nice random decoration from a pride goer ini the street 🙂
shut down!
this is the main road in and out of brighton along the seafront. This gorgeous sunday evening, it was a no go area! I was looking to get the bus home and next thing I know im 2 stepping to some classic house outside the sealife centre! mental.
opened up
my other half for the day! ❤
Everyone comes out, wears glitter, finds feathers, and raves until they fall asleep.
Wanderers come home, Friends who enjoy a homier life come out and about with bells!
I hardly saw anyone I planned to see but just knowing we were all around having a good time carefree was all good 😀
Thankyou to everyone who participated in this amazing show of love, support and humanity.
Long Live Brighton PRIDE!
Fly your flag of Love ❤
🙂
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Love that it was PRIDE’s 25th Birthday and I am in my 25th year!
Last week I kept Ahimsa in mind a lot more than I initially thought I would.
I noticed just by observing others and myself day to day that the internal narration that CONSTANTLY runs my mind started to soften. Tone wise. I realise that the default tone of voice in my head towards myself is preettyyyy aggressive. After all these years of Yoga and travelling and general fun stuff how can my Self still be running the show this way?
Despite all of the inner tellings off I gave myself from both sides of the crazy fence, External stuff started to subside. I am not giving myself such a hard time about what eat and am trusting my inner discernment. I also noticed that my patience with people and life in general improved this week and generally it was a week where I felt comfortable in ‘levelling down’ instead of intensely striving for that ‘level up’ feeling.
my music of the week. Don’t understand the language but I trust that it’s saying something!
I am always anti physical violence, but feel so much more comfortable in expressing that notion as we are now moving into ….
Now… Satya – Truthfulness
This one, to me, feels like it will be easier. (which probably means, I have no idea what I am talking about haha).
I only say this as I have always been hyper sensitive to participating in things that do not line up with my Dharma or my purpose. I am not someone who believes in the whole ‘non quitting’ thing. If something feels bad or wrong or at opposition to the inner voice get out of there man!
Most recently a change I have implemented out of nowhere is becoming a vegetarian. It slowly came about in the last year completely naturally just from me listening to the inner voice. There are still some things for sure that I am having trouble clearing out, but I know that admitting these things goes a long way so I have hope for me yet!
I found when starting to pay attention to my inner narrative I was quite taken aback. I couldn’t believe I had gone so long without actually taking a moment to analyse the kind of talk I was directing towards myself and others. I have always been quite a deep thinker about the world around me, and it had never dawned on me to analyse the language I use internally.
Turns out, I am pretty mean to me! Which was making me mean towards others and then that was then coming back around to be mean to me about myself being mean to others so as you can see that is way.too.much.
And breathe.
Ahimsa has helped me take more responsibility for the chat and crap that I believe in my head. My sense of compassion is stronger and I love it! After the little word I had with myself I realised what is inside is reflected outside, I am finding it easier to keep my feet on the ground. It really is very nice to be nice, so why not give it a go at every single opportunity you have?
Try to tune into the voice that may have been pushed under by the bully boy coach type voice. Or if you have no idea what I mean. Try to create a new lingo for yourself. Maybe try to pick up one new positive adjective a day, and use it as much as possible, to the point where you may even sound silly and it might turn into a bit of laugh! You never know, you might spread some silliness and before you know it we will all be smiling at each other willy nilly! Dun Dun Dun!!!
Really fab article on incorporating Ahimsa to your Asana (Posture – Physical) practise.
This location is perfect for Yoga in Sussex. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by the natural wonder of The Downs, and weather permitting, we practise outside. This really helps to keep awareness in the present. Between the birdsong and the Sunshine (like I said, weather permitting – This is still England after all 🙂 ) it really is an enriching way to start your (hump) day.
Peacehaven
Fridays 7-8
Anzac room in the Meridian Centre (some Wednesdays – see pic)
It is really fulfilling to teach in my hometown in the centre where I have so many memories! From childhood visits to the co-op for the sole purpose of a Thomas the Tank engine gingerbread man, to teenage mischief that included winding up Ricky, the security guard, after school. Come along for this friendly and reflective class, the perfect way to see in your weekend.
Seaford – Constitutional Club –
Friday mornings (10-11) and Sunday afternoons (4-5)
Now this venue is a bit of a wildcard, but it works!
Generally the room we use for class is utilised for Tea dances and general merriment (Fully stocked bar to the back 😮 ) but we manage to fill the space with our empowering sequences and uplifting vibrations. I tend to focus a lot in this class on mobility of shoulders and neck and the importance of grounding through the feet and the signals that sends to the body they’re supporting.
It really is both scary and exciting to teach Yoga in Brighton. With the multitude of styles, classes and teachers all around it can be a bit nerve racking for me (a new teacher!) to teach in a city that is so particular and mindful in all it offers.
Originally we weren’t going to tackle Brighton classes until the smaller town classes were up and running but I was made aware of the space by a very savvy friend of mine and couldn’t refuse.
Of all my classes this is the one that moves the fastest and I enjoy exploring stronger asanas (postures) with my students.
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If you are interested in offering workshops or classes to a group or organisation through myself or Smile then please get in touch!
SunsetSoulSister 