Launchpad 2023
Launchpad 2023 - Artist/industry development opportunities in Yorkshire
Kirklees Year of Music is pleased to be running the Launchpad seminar again in 2023.
We have invited project director Sam Nicholls (aka Whiskas), to come and talk about the support Launchpad provides for those aiming to build a career in music throughout Yorkshire - including details of their grant-funded support that provides industry advice & mentoring, opportunities to perform live at festivals and events across the region, funding to support project and personal development, as well as for making new recordings.
In addition, we will break down what other opportunities are available for artists based in Kirklees, from other regional projects such as Come Play With Me, and national funders such as Youth Music, Help Musicians & PRS Foundation.
They will be bringing a panel of made up of people who have received support Launchpad and other organisation, and who have built their careers in the music industry, they will talk through their experience and pass on advice about working in the industry.
Lins Wilson
Lins is an artist, musician and project producer based in Leeds. As a guitarist, cellist and bassist she has written, recorded and toured internationally - including European tour support for The Pixies, performing at SXSW and at major UK festivals. Her garage-psych rock band, Magick Mountain, self-released their debut album in 2020 and have played Latitude Festival, shared stages with The Cribs, Wand, Meatbodies, and been supported by BBC Radio, Festival Republic/PRSf, Help Musicians and Launchpad.
Eeshar Singh
Eeshar Singh is a Yorkshire-born musician and composer. He plays a rare Indian Classical instrument called the Santoor and has performed for a wide range of audiences across the country. Eeshar was the recipient of PRS’s Spotlight Fund which allowed him to consolidate his many years of learning through mentorship and building compositional tools.
Jessie Marcella Pigott
Hailing from Leeds, UK producer and composer Jessie Marcella has always been drawn to deep, emotive soundscapes. Classically trained in clarinet, this British newcomer crafts her unique sound through a process of melding together live and electronic instrumentation. Championed by the likes of Sian Eleri and Jaguar on BBC Radio 1, and winner of Youth Music's Music Producer Award 2022, Marcella's ethereal neo-classical electronica and fearless production style has been recognised.
Nicole Raymond
Described as a ""musical polymath"" by Clash Magazine, NikNak is also a multi-disciplinary artist and music creative with many roles in the industry.
As a DJ, NikNak has shared the stage with the likes of Mr Scruff, Lefto Early Bird, Ila Brugal, Jamz Supanova, Craig Charles, Om Unit, Jon1st, Grandmaster Flash and many more notable artists. She has been recognised as one of DJMag’s ""Ones to Watch"" in 2022, and has performed at Berghain, Glastonbury, Outlook UK, Dimensions, Cuidad Emergente in Argentina, FiftyLab Festival in Brussels and many more events. Each NikNak set is expansive, unique, ambitious, genre-defying, and serves as a testament to her sponge-like musical knowledge. On the radio, NikNak has shown her huge musical knowledge via shows like ""Melanin"" on Worldwide FM and ""Dystopia"" on Refuge Worldwide, to name a few.
As an artist/producer, NikNak is the first Black Turntablist to win an Oram Award in 2020 and regularly pushes boundaries on what the turntables are capable of.
Samuel Nicholls or whiskas as he is mainly known in the music industry, is a Senior Lecturer in Music at Leeds Beckett University, founding the BA Music Industries Management course. He initiated the Music:Leeds project in 2017, before establishing the emerging talent programme Launchpad and building Music:Local as a vehicle to connect and support local music sectors more broadly.
The link for the Launchpad website: https://www.launchpad-music.com/about