Hi there! I‘ve been gone a long long time admittedly.

 In all honesty I’ve been living, promoting my new single and not pressuring myself to post everyday and keep up with regular blog posts. I know there’s a string of things I have to do as independent artist to keep interest in me but in the same breath…we can actually create and live life however we choose.

 Since we last caught up I have released my latest single “Tell Me” and shot the music video which is out now eek!! I just wanted to highlight some of the peaks and valleys with this release just to show that rejection comes with the game of being an artist, and even the people who look like everything is going swimmingly for them, have probably just learned to ride the waves and keep it moving no matter what.

 1. I have had more radio play and Spotify streams on this release than any other (I believe) and yet I have been rejected from every single blog I reached out to, to feature the song.

 2.     Tell Me has been supported by BBC introducing Manchester, and was even selected by Mike Skinner (The Streets) to be played on radio one as part Mike Skinner introducing Selections. But has minimal streams on Soundcloud.

3.   The video looks fire and I’m happy with it, but is coming out 8 weeks after the release of the single which is much later than I planned for, for a number of reasons out of my control, but these things happen. And after creating a high quality video I didn’t find a channel that would premiere it for me.

4. I feel deeply fulfilled releasing music…however EVERYTHING COSTS and the reality is at this stage there is minimal return.

5.     Once you get the ball rolling it has to keep rolling, so although in a pandemic I have time to focus on my music, I’m definitely unemployed at the moment. My industry is dead and with almost 100% of my income coming from live performance it’s becoming a question of how am I going to sustain this? Oh and I’ve also been declined from every funding pot I have applied for.

So… this is just a very small selection of the natural ups and downs of releasing music independently, I’m very much positive about the situation and take the rough with the smooth. But I write this to say, be encouraged, everyone takes hits at every level and stage of their career. I’m very much excited about releasing my next single and doing a much cheaper video lol!

But for now,  click the link below, check out my music video and like, share, comment & subscribe to my channel.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ1lefd08KQ

Peace & love

Ione x

Hello gang,

 This week I wanted to talk a little bit about how I write my songs, as this week has seen me re-release a single of mine called Running in the Dark. As I’m being kinder to myself I have realised there’s so many things I have done in the past and songs I have made that I haven’t deemed “good enough”. Yet they really are more than good enough, cue re-release of RITD.

 My process of writing is so varied and is always evolving. For Running in the Dark I actually bought the instrumental to this song from the good old internet, as I was tired of having to wait for producers or not being able to afford who I wanted. Writing over beats has now become a huge part of how I write, I still sit down at the piano or with a guitarist, but being stuck on a certain way of writing or the “purist” way can sometimes slow us down. this also hugely depends on the genre of music.

 As everything there are pros and cons. The pros to writing over beats is: beats can be inexpensive, they are yours as soon as you purchase them so you don’t need to chase anyone for that final mix, and there are a lot of good instrumentals around. With my deal all royalties are mine and a lot of very successful artists from Chris Brown & Tinashe to many rappers have beats sent to them all the time, it isn’t some bootleg way of making music as it can be seen.

 Cons: If you don’t have a lot of coins then your instrumental will probably be non exclusive meaning that hundreds of other people potentially could have bought that same beat and be making a song over it just like you. You don’t have a relationship with the producer so if you love the beat but would like to make some changes it may not be possible so naturally in some way you are limited.

 All that being said I’m now a believer in starting where you are. When writing RITD I was teaching myself the piano as I wanted to take my ideas from the piano to a producer who would catch my vision and bring that to life. That was the dream, but I can’t let life pass me by, waiting for things to happen for me the way they do to artists on major labels with major budgets…and neither can you.

 So start, start now, wherever you are with whatever you have. If you can play three chords on the guitar, then write songs with them three chords in as many inversions possible while teaching yourself more. If you only have your phone, start making your YouTube videos on your phone until you can afford a camera, and if you have to take night classes to get that business acumen up while you work to eat in the daytime then do that.

 Perfectionism is a killer & many songs that sound like they were crafted around the singers melody were in fact created separately yet fit like a glove. So many people are waiting for you to walk into your purpose and so many good things are waiting for you if you start now with whatever you have.

 Also check out my “new” single Running in the Dark by clicking on the menu at the top of the page then hitting the music tab.

Much love,

 Ione

Hey All!!

 So … a few blogs ago I wrote an entire piece about the front cover to my new single being made, and then my last blog was about me shining my light…great stuff! In other words I was more than ready to share my new music with you asap, but apparently I can’t do that just yet.

 As well as being an artist I’m also my own manager, agent, PR, social media strategist and so much more, so in short I have a lot to do before I can share any music with you. This is both annoying & understandable in equal measure.

After pouring time, energy and money into my project why now blow it at the last hurdle by rushing just to say I have something out?  I’m doing all I can to ensure I release my music the absolute best way I can with the means I have.

 If you have been following my socials I have definitely been more active of late and it has NOT been soul destroying nor has it killed the artist in me, which is already a result. I’m learning to look at the bigger picture, listen to the experts, invest in myself and give myself a fighting chance to win. I wonder if there are other areas of my life where patience can be applied?

 This quarantine has really afforded me time to work on all areas of my life because as the great Quincy Jones has said, “You can never be a better musician than you are person”. It may look like some people are pretty successful who aren’t particularly great people but what something looks like isn’t always what it is.

 I’ve discovered that I want to be a successful musician but I want to be a successful person, partner, daughter, entrepreneur and friend too. All these things take time to nurture. I don’t want to be a great artist at the expense of my integrated self or peace of mind.

So… the music is coming, but I’m also coming along with it too so both need work, time and attention. I expect great things for myself and we seem to always equip ourselves for bad times, but I’m also equipping myself for a lot of good too which can be overwhelming as well. We have all seen artists lose their way when they attain great success, so I’m preparing myself not just so I can face the perils of life, but also for the eventuality that all my wildest dreams come true! A shift in focus can make all the difference :)

Click the links below to my socials to follow this journey on a day to day basis.

With love,

 Ione

Yikes indeed!!

So for many musicians and creatives we love to do, to sing, to write, to perform. However It’s also very possible as a musician that we can spend a lot of time doing what we need to do to make money and less of what we want to do, which in my case is release my own projects. 

 In this time of lockdown I really have nowhere to run, I can do all the things I usually claim I don’t have the time to do. I initially didn’t know if it was appropriate to pop up asking people to stream my new single while so many are stressed and suffering. But I was also reminded that there was a time when singing wasn’t my job and I would sing all day because I loved it. This usually involved me rearranging the sofas to be podiums in the arena of my front room. And more importantly music really is a healer and can bring a lot of joy to people…”so sing girl” is what I keep telling myself! 

 With the time I have indoors I have found myself rekindling my love for music, listening, playing and writing and it’s a journey I would love to share. In many ways I put myself out there but in many ways I don’t. I’ve been avoiding singing covers for years and the idea of creating content is so wild to me although I understand the concept of people being invested in my journey and “getting to know me” etc. It’s still new to me to keep on top of my social media and all that good stuff. 

 In my reminiscing of my early love for music I remembered I wrote my 1st song at 9 years of age and it is something I love and still a craft I am working on. That being said I have decided to focus on my artistry solely, which involves my YouTube Channel. Here, as well as singing covers and my old music that I haven’t shared in the past, I’m going to have a series of videos that chronicle song-writing sessions. I will be doing this with some of my favourite people to write songs with and for, all while in quarantine. I love doing this, so why not do more of what we love aye? 

 Sometimes as artists the journey is so wrought with rejection and pain as well as joy and elation that we can forget that what we do is magical. And that goes for everyone reading this, there is something we all can do that comes pretty easy to us but is so fascinating to others.  

 So follow my socials below and look for the first of my song-writing videos on YouTube, me singing covers and all round shining. If not now…when? 

 With Love, 

 Ione 

Yes people, another mention of the dreaded COVID 19!! A couple of weeks ago I was having the time of my life on tour doing a job I loved and was ready to release some new music that I was so very happy with. None of this is the case now due to corona. But letting go of the way things should have happened and giving in (not up) to what is, has proven to be really interesting. Can an external catastrophic event stop a creative mind? Can self -isolation be teaching us something? Read on and see!!

1. I was sort of self- isolating before it was a thing.

 Apart from work (that admittedly takes up most of my life) I did not realise how much I love being at home. You see, I do have an active social life, but in all honesty if my friends didn’t ask me to go out and do things I would probably be in my home. As a singer-songwriter a lot of what we do is in isolation anyway.

2. It’s ok to do nothing

 I used to be a workaholic, but last year after working myself to the point of exhaustion and illness, I started the journey of learning how important rest is. Because of this I’m much more in tune with my body now and can feel when I need to slow down, (which is more often than I thought). I see a lot of talk about being productive while on lock down, but I’ve taken the last two weeks to fight my compulsion to always be doing something and have reminded myself it’s ok to do nothing. Rest is important to my well-being.

3. You kind of have to spend time with yourself to know yourself

 Tom Bilyeu said it best “But the reality is, the only thing that matters in this life is what you think about yourself, when you’re by yourself and it’s you and your thoughts”. By choosing not to fill every second of every day with something, I have really met with myself and really learned a lot about me; the good, the not so good and the areas where I still need to grow. I’m learning that all the answers I need and the parts of me I am getting to know now, can only be found once all the noise has stopped.

4. Self -care is a full time job

 Between taking care of myself, nurturing my creativity and trying to evolve, I actually have no time left by the end of the locked down day. I have come to realise that the lifestyle that we consider normal really doesn’t allow time to truly take care of ourselves or for any healing. It’s something we squeeze in. Because of this lockdown I’m being urged to find ways to integrate proper rest into my busy schedule once the world returns to its new normal.  Research has shown that two of the top five regrets from people coming towards the end of their life is, “I wish I hadn’t worked that hard” and “I wish I had stayed in touch with my loved ones more”.  Lock down is the perfect time to make sure we don’t have these regrets.

5. It’s ok to be ok

 The reality is, due to Covid-19 I have lost my job, have no prospects of earning anytime soon, had to holt my plans of buying my first home, my dream holiday was cancelled, my birthday was last week during lockdown, I’ve had to move back in with my mum, claim benefits and have been indoors for the past two weeks…but I feel completely at peace with this. All I can do is go with the flow and choose to remind myself instead that; I got to do a tour I loved for 10 weeks, met some incredible people, had a virtual house party for my birthday, I’m grateful to have a mum that I can run to no matter how old I get and I now have time to take care of myself and reconnect with loved ones.

 I know it will get better, work will come in eventually and this is an opportunity to do all the things I claim I’m too busy to do when I am working. I’m finding blessings in the smaller things in life and my dream holiday & plans can resume once this is all over…or maybe some new wonderful plan will unfold.

 Everyone has been effected so differently by this virus. I have heard some truly horrible stories and it’s not over yet. However, while still being aware of what’s going on around us we can make choices everyday that either bring us closer to fear & chaos or closer to harmony and peace. While our own lives can seem so out of our control now, let’s still be responsible for our choices and how they affect our well being and the others around us.

With Love,

 Ione