XamVolo – PMG

NEW SINGLE DROPPED FROM XAMVOLO

XamVolo is back with his new single ‘In Love & War‘, just 6 months after releasing his debut album ‘All the Sweetness on the Surface’.

The new single offers an amalgamation of many different sounds and has XV’s classic soulful vocals on top, it’s the ultimate chilled out vibe and the chorus will have your toes tapping along.

Written, Produced and Performed by XamVolo, he went one step further to create this cool visualiser to accompany the perfect sound of the summer.

Stream and support!

LIMF ACADEMY APPLICATIONS OPEN…

The applications are now open for the 2019/2020 LIMF Academy! Aimed at artists, producer-artists and bands between the ages 16-25 from across Merseyside, LIMF Academy gives you exclusive access to activities and insider know-how from the music industry.

Artists such as XamVolo, Jalen N’Gonda and Pizzagirl have all previously been apart of the elite talent development program and went on to exciting things.

For those selected, the Academy offers:

Performance opportunities at Liverpool International Music Festival and other regular showcases
Access to exclusive monthly masterclass sessions with industry experts
Financial investment in your career (3 individuals will each receive an award of £600 and 3 individuals will each receive an award of £2,500)
Paid membership of PRS For Music
50 hours rehearsal time with Pirate Studios

On top of this, for the three most exceptional artists, producer-artists and/or bands the Academy will also provide:

Creation of professional press assets – photographs, EPK and biog
Year round mentoring
Exclusive bi-monthly skills sessions
Showcase opportunities to key press and industry in both Liverpool and London
Paid membership for one year to the Musicians’ Union

The award winning initiative was conceptualised by THE PLAYMAKER GROUP’s Yaw Owusu, who continues to drive it to this day. This years call out video below was also created by ourselves.

BBC 6 MUSIC FESTIVAL SHOWCASES LIMF ACADEMY EVENT

You may know BBC 6 Music Festival are taking over Liverpool at the end of the month with a host of seminars,, Q&A’s, events, performances and much much more. The likes of John Grant, Hot Chip, Jungle, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Little Sims will all perform as well as a range of locals artists.

To coincide with this, THE PLAYMAKER GROUP have curated and stage manage The LIMF Academy Showcase which will be one of the BBC 6 Music Festival Fringe events. The lineup consist of XamVolo, Luna, New Junior and CaveParty.

The event is completely free and takes place at The Jacaranda Phase One on Friday 22nd March, come down and vibe with us!

EXCLUSIVE XAMVOLO INTERVIEW

By now you would have caught the news – XamVolo has released his debut album “All The Sweetness On The Surface”. The 15 track record is gaining acclaim from everyone who listens. It even got a nice mention on the hugely popular Joe Budden Podcast this week…and has already racked up close to million streams.

THE PLAYMAKER GROUP work with the man himself in a variety of ways – and worked quite closely with him on the album so it was only right we got to chop it up with him to share more about the album and his journey over the past few years.

PMG: This album took over 2 years to make and was in the vault for a while before release, what was the experience like making and releasing the album?

XV: Making the album was definitely the best part of the whole process; being given the opportunity to apply everything I’ve learn over the years was one of the most intense and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. The most interesting part has been the campaign side of things, though. As much as I feel I’ve grown musically and artistically over this period, I’ve also learnt a lot about the inner-workings of the album cycle – as well as the inner-workings of people. It’s easy to underestimate what goes into everything until you’re in the centre of it – I’d consider that the most valuable thing I’ve taken from the whole journey.

PMG: It seems the response by key supporters and the public has been amazing since you put it out, how did that feel and how does that inform your future plans?

XV: I find it validating. I shouldn’t (and don’t) rely solely on external validation when it comes to my work but to me it holds value, especially the widely trusted opinions of people who are exposed to so much music on a regular basis. For a while a few years ago I wasn’t sure what I was making was even viable, but having all this sustained public support has kept (and keeps) me motivated and inspired to continue up this path.

PMG: What’s your favourite song on the project and why?

XV: From a production standpoint it has to be ‘Alive’ – it’s probably the piece of production I’m most proud of at the moment – got to use a talk box as well which I’ve always wanted to do. From a lyrical standpoint it would probably be ‘Beast’, only because it illustrates a dilemma I’ve had for a long time: “if I did away with the rules of human society I would imagine it to be so liberating, but could I do without all the benefits that come with walking through life as a human being?” – wasn’t easy to put into words but I’m glad it worked out well.

PMG: There is a hidden gem within the album – can you tell us more about that?

XV: The second half of the album uses real world drug symptoms to illustrate the multi-staged side effects of Slaize (‘Alive’ being likened to cocaine, ‘Adored’ being likened to diazepam, ‘I Win You Lose’ to alcohol etc.) I wanted the final stage to be an intense hallucinogenic experience, so to illustrate that I made the Intro and Outro to reveal a hidden title track when played at the same time – by putting ‘All The Sweetness’ on ‘The Surface’. The result is intended to be a conversation between a version of the character before consuming Slaize (the subject of the album) and the version afterwards, held in a space that transcends two-track audio.

PMG: Comparing XV before working on and releasing this album, and XV after, can your talk about your professional growth?

XV: I’ve learnt a lot as I said before; I reckon I have a better understanding of what goes into a whole campaign – it’s a lot. I better understand the value of organic connections of all kinds – they’re so powerful. Moreover, there’s only so much about music you can learn in the studio – there’s an incredible amount about people and the industry you can’t learn online, or in a book. Those experiences, the great ones and the not-so-great ones, have changed my whole perception of what ‘experience’ means entirely. I can’t wait to learn more and grow even further.

Check out the new album XAMVOLO – ALL THE SWEETNESS ON THE SURFACE – out on all digital music stores and streaming sites worldwide