Graduates from the famous BRIT School of Performing Arts, Stephan Benson and Jeffrey Okyere formed in 2010 to make up the dynamic UK Pop/R&B duo Misunderstood. Since they formed, Misunderstood have toured and performed alongside the likes of DJ Fresh and Boyz II Men.

The inspiration for the name ‘Misunderstood’ comes from the boys’ personal experiences of being seen as different:

“We call ourselves Misunderstood, as we feel many people look at ‘difference’ and don’t understand it, so they automatically look at it as a bad thing.

They don’t understand that being ‘different’ is the very thing that makes you special. So we took being Misunderstood as a positive… It means you have more room to exceed people’s expectations! We say, “Be you, love who you are, and be Misunderstood.”

2017 has been a busy year for the boys so far, having released a dounle A-side single, with tracks “Sucker & Imma Do My Thang”, which marked the end of a 6-week National Tour. Both of these tracks are also being featured in the new Universal Pictures Movie  ‘Bring It on 6’ (released Summer 2017), which will see Stephan in his first lead role.

Stephan and Jeffrey have just returned from their first writing trip to LA, collaborating in the studio with the likes of Will.I.Am, Keith Harris (Black Eyed Peas), HazeBanga (Beyonce), Ferras (Katy Perry) and Damon Sharpe (J-Lo, Anastasia).

Keep up to date with everything ‘Misunderstood’ on their social sites below.

@mdsofficial INSTAGRAM

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www.facebook.com/misunderstoodofficial FACEBOOK

Some voices sweep away everything in their path, sending shivers up the spine, chilling the blood and inflaming the senses.

Adam Naas may only be 24, but his soul-man voice is one such phenomenon. That fact did not escape the band AaRON, who invited him to guest at their concerts.

Right from his first song, Fading Away, he caught the attention of Les Inrocks and Clique.tv. The Frenchman’s style – a somberly romantic, contemporary dark soul that never stops posturing or excessive effects – makes a powerful impression. Adam Naas bares his soul simply, discreetly and fearlessly. Each line of his lyrics delves deeply into the most anguished and intense of feelings, and he has a tremendous capacity for honesty. Writing his music himself, he transmutes his personal experiences into universal emotions (love, fear, disquiet, hope…). So with just a few nostalgic and compelling, melancholic and radiant songs, he has defined his art: a personal, intimate, startlingly sincere soul-pop.

Yet the Parisian bears little resemblance to the formulaic ‘doomed artist’. More than anybody, he is amused by the idea. “For a while, I thought of calling myself Corbeau (Crow),” he explains ironically. In fact, a black eagle would be a far better symbol as just a moment spent watching the video of Fading Away or his live performances proves.

From the very first notes, the majestic bird takes wing… Adam Naas soars, borne up by the winds of soul, folk, pop and indie rock. Those genres fill him with energy as he makes each one his own, turning from an upbeat number (the exhilarating Downtown) to a gospel invocation (the very personal You Should Know). His deep, sensual voice caresses the skin; carnal, it lasciviously plunges deep into the body. His world is a black hole of sensations and sentiments, as attractive as they are disturbing.

His love affair with music was not predestined. “I didn’t start singing before I could walk,” he smiles, “and there were no musicians in my family. But I was raised on Nina Simone – my mother listened to her a lot – and the music my elder brother played.” Adam Naas was a great fan of Sister Act II and its young singer Lauryn Hill – in fact, he grew up with her cult album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. He also enjoyed singing backing vocals to Destiny’s Child tracks. A self-taught artist, he felt the music before he analyzed it. When he first heard A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke’s breathtaking 1964 anthem to civil rights – it was a revelation. “I realized that if I were going to make music, it would have to be just as intense and honest.” He was equally impressed by the electronic productions of The XX and James Blake, whose coherency fascinated him. Very soon, music became his means of communication and self-expression. Today, the curious young man (he graduated from high school in sciences and studied economics to “understand the world better”) freely embraces his lucid romanticism. The shy boy has become a superb crooner, projecting a charm and appeal of which only he seems unaware.

His first EP will be released this fall on Virgin/Mercury.

CATHERINE MCGRATH

For a genre whose epicentre is unquestionably Nashville, country music is shaking off its old preconceptions as it develops a significant following among fresh, young audiences in the UK and Eire. James Bay and Ed Sheeran have both spent extended periods in Music City USA soaking up its unique musical heritage, while Taylor Swift’s background in the genre has heightened its profile all over the globe. Some 4000 miles from its honorary capital, its growth is demonstrated by the annual Country 2 Country festival which sees its biggest stars and most exciting young talents descend on London to play to 20,000 passionate fans.

Despite such progress, it still feels like a surprise that country’s newest non-domestic talent hails from the rural outskirts of Belfast. Nineteen-year-old Catherine McGrath’s passion for the sound was piqued far before recent events extended its audience. Initially won over by Taylor Swift’s self-titled pre-pop album, McGrath delved deeper into the genre’s new era of talent in the shape of Kacey Musgraves, Dan + Shay and Maddie & Tae.

“That music wasn’t played where I was from, so you had to go and discover yourself,” she says, recalling how she’d try to encourage her pop-loving friends to follow her changing tastes. “The reason I love country so much is because there’s such of range of things you can sing about. It’s so honest – the songs start as just a story or an emotion and the music follows on from there.”

Coming from a music loving family, McGrath first took up the guitar as an accompaniment for her voice. Her grandmother taught her how to play ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ and she developed her playing further by observing her father performing and by following YouTube tutorials.

Soon enough, McGrath started writing songs which blended her unique UK perspective on country alongside pop influences such as George Ezra and Ed Sheeran. Northern Irish traditional music (“Everybody joyfully singing along down the local pub!”) also provided an important touch point – and especially so as McGrath has regularly performed at her parents’ spirited Fiddler’s Green festival which attracts musicians from as far afield as North America and Germany.

Eager to gauge a wider reaction to her talent, McGrath began to upload her inimitable country inspired performances of massive pop hits to YouTube.

“I decided to post covers to see what strangers thought, and I remember the first comment being ‘This is really good. Please put up more!’ So I kept on doing it, more and more people would listen, and I found more people who liked country music. I realised that there was this wider community who, just like me, really loved country and wanted more of it.”

Through her YouTube content McGrath was spotted by Instrumental, the London and NYC-based business who specialise in discovering and developing music talent emerging on social media. They invited her to test the waters with some writing and studio sessions. “A few weeks later they called me and asked, ‘How would you feel about moving over here, writing more songs and talking to labels?’ and then ‘How soon can you move over?’”

After six months in London honing her songwriting skills, things suddenly moved at a lightning pace. Her first of two visits to Nashville was a revelation (“I dreamed of seeing country music at all the little bars and it was exactly what I’d pictured!”) and she also signed with Warner Bros. Records in the summer of 2016.

With her forthcoming acoustic debut EP ‘One’, McGrath wants to present something that “fits all of the different parts of my personality.” It’s a snapshot of songs which demonstrates how McGrath uses the country tradition to explore stories of love, romance and hurt which will resonate with people of her age.

The EP leads with two new originals: ‘Hell Would Have To Freeze Over’ is a sassy strut with a confident and defiant attitude, while the plaintively performed ‘Cinderella’ (co-written with Taylor Swift collaborator Liz Rose) tells a fairytale story which McGrath compares to a big moment in a Disney movie. ‘One’ is completed with McGrath’s stripped-back take on Jessie Ware’s ‘Say You Love Me’ which was chosen to reflect both her interest in pop as well country’s appreciation of well-crafted songs.

It’s a wonderful introduction to an artist who looks poised to take country to fresh new audiences. “If there was more awareness of what country music really is compared to what people think it is, lots more people would love it,” she professes with evident passion. “I’m writing music that I genuinely love and I care about the message that I’m sending out.”

SUPERGLU