Unveil the new WAY UP mini video docu-series focusing on emerging talent featuring Zoe Mead (Wlydest)
Watch ‘Alive (Acoustic)’ by Zoe Mead (Wlydest) launching 8th March (International Women’s Day 2020)
Including WAY UP Artist Panel (Tokyo) launching 17th March 2020
Following on from the successful ‘Tales of Making Waves’ series launched last year, YAMAHA are pleased to announce details of a brand new video series, ‘WAY UP’, which aims to introduce emerging artists, their music and their creative processes to a brand new audience.
To kick start the series, YAMAHA have teamed up with rising British talents Zoe Mead (Wlydest) to create an exclusive track and video, shining a personal light on the way they make music, their background and creative inspirations.
Zoe says: “It’s been a few years since I performed acoustically, I used to play acoustic guitar live – and think nothing of it. Now though, it’s kinda terrifying. I forgot just how intimate it is, all flaws on show, nothing to hide behind – just your guitar and your voice – with all its breaths, throat noises and flaws. It was also exhilarating and made me remember why I started performing and writing in the first place. I did a stripped back version of one of our album tracks ‘Alive’ after recently reworking it as part of our new ‘Redream Chaos’ album. Alive is a song about love, loss and life chapters coming and passing and the lyrics began life as a short poem written to help me come to terms with a particular chapter that was closing. I use poetry as a way of dealing with feelings – this time it was an attempt to forgive, be content and lift others as a result.”
She goes on to add: “It felt like a good choice of song for International Women’s day… It’s important that we come out of our insular worlds sometimes and acknowledge the challenges that others face, support peers and in particular female-identifying peers. n an ideal world we wouldn’t need IWD. But in our world, we do and we will for many generations to come. So instead of sitting around complaining about how women are STILL discriminated against in the masses, we have this day to focus deeply on the subject, acknowledge it, celebrate those who are breaking boundaries and changing the face of success. In 2020, things are shifting in the right direction, as they have been since IWD started in the early 19th century, but it is slow-moving and we need to do all we can to accelerate it. In the past, society has filled women in music with a sense of doubt. I’ve grow up seeing females in music doing a lot of the singing, surrounded in males taking care of the tech stuff, playing the majority of the instrumentation – lead guitar, drums, bass. I remember being a kid wanting to ‘be a singer when I grow up’. Having the gift of voice is certainly a blessing, but females are too often categorized as ‘singers’ or ‘vocalists’ within a machine run by men. Women need to be empowered and this will come from having a positive network of people around. It’s very important that we as women support each other and that men trust in the capabilities of their female peers. I’ve been fortunate to work with some very talented and wonderful people (both male and female) who have filled me with confidence. So let’s celebrate each other on March 8th, talk about those that inspire us, so we can work to be the women that inspire others in the future.”
Yamaha’s head of Creative Projects, Sebastian Krenmayr says, “With this series we want to empower emerging artists to introduce themselves, their talent and their music.”
The WAY UP series also includes a panel where various emerging artists come together from different places around the world to talk about their experiences in the music industry, what it means to express themselves through their songs and how they progress personally with their music. The panel takes place at the Yamaha Ginza Hall in Tokyo this March and JNR Williams and Wyldest will meet up with other artists from around the globe to share experiences in song writing and how music empowers them to express their emotions and convey a message.
Artist info:
WYLDEST
Singer-Songwriter-Producer
Wyldest is the musical project of London based singer-songwriter-producer Zoe Mead, flanked by multi-instrumentalist Mariin Kallikorm and drummer Jack Gooderham. The band stands out thanks to their remarkable self-sufficiency: writing, producing, engineering and creating all artwork and videos themselves.
Having just released her latest single “Quiet Violet (Redream)”, the final single to appear ahead of her Redream Chaos album, Wlydest has gained accolades from the likes of Clash Magazine, The Independent, Complex, NPR, Dummy Mag and DIY Mag.
Zoe is a self-taught producer and musician, using a variety of instruments, including a Yamaha acoustic guitar and stage piano. She draws inspiration from various genres, blending shoegaze, dream-pop and indie, “following the rules initially and then breaking them” to create her unique Wyldest sound.
Website: https://wyldest.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1H5bZEYikISQmR2qY2SASI
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyldest/
Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/wyldest/
YAMAHA Corporation Group Profile
The Yamaha Corporation Group’s core business begins with the manufacturing and marketing of musical instruments, and spans the management of music and other schools, in addition to the production and sales of audio and visual media software.
A few notes, a simple melody – that’s enough to make emotional waves and create a connection with other people. Sound and music have a very special influence on us, the world around us and how we perceive it. The “Make Waves” concept revolves around our passions and what moves us: we want to express ourselves and leave an impression, we want to keep developing as listeners and musicians, we want to experience music together.
That is why Yamaha has set itself a clear goal with its “Make Waves” philosophy: to help people make waves with their sound and music.
YAMAHA Music Social Channels
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yamahamusiceurope/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YamahaMusicEurope/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/YamahaMusicEU
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/yamahacorporation
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yamaha-corporation