Vegan Quarantine: Day 54

Welcome to Vegan Quarantine: Day 54. This daily video series is my way of keeping spirits high within the vegan community while also supporting independent business, charities, and musicians.

Links for everything mentioned are included below.

My book can be ordered via Hive for UK delivery:
https://tinyurl.com/y2x4w7bp

The Green Grill is starting delivery of vegan comfort food in West London. Follow on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/thegreengrill/

One Small Shop is delivering zero and low waste goods around the UK and further abroad:
https://www.onesmallshop.com/

VIDA Bakery is making celebration cakes for delivery in London and surrounding areas:
https://www.instagram.com/vidabakery/

Recipe of the day. Black bean soup:
https://simpleveganblog.com/black-bean-soup/

Music recommendation of the day. Ignore Me by Betty Who:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vjgo6k1zVU

Here is my PayPal account if you can afford to support these daily videos:
https://paypal.me/pools/c/8oikSipsfP

Who in London

Exciting news for pop music fans. Properly exciting news.

Remember when I raved about vegan pop performer Betty Who? You don’t? Go here and here to remind yourself of how I lost my heart to Betty Who.

betty-who-press-2013-650

Now that you are up to speed, hold on to your cruelty-free hats as I drop the latest.

Betty Who is performing in London on May 27th, 2014!

Fresh from topping the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart with her hit Somebody Loves You, the Australian singer has locked in a date to perform in east London. The venue appears to be rather intimate so I strongly suggest being quick when tickets go on sale this Wednesday (March 5th, 2014). You can buy here.

See you at the gig. I’ll be the FGV in the front row.

Tell me the world is ours

Nothing hits me like a solid pop song. There is something about a well-crafted song drenched in snare and bouncing with bass to make me love life just a little bit more. But it can’t be just any pop song that wins my affections. It needs to be heartfelt, timeless and believable. Enter Betty Who with her debut EP The Movement.

You’ll remember Betty Who from my interview with the singer a short while ago. I asked her about her musical influences, growing up in Australia and most importantly for readers of this blog, her veganism. Refresh your memory here.

Accidentally tripping over her single Somebody Loves Me sent me into a musical tailspin from which I’m yet to pull up. The song literally zipped to the top of my playlist and has barely been bothered since. My appetite for Betty Who had well and truly been awoken so it is with much joy and satisfaction that I present the songs from her new EP The Movement, available from today.

The four track collection is an exercise in pop purity. From powerhouse choruses through to softly spoken refrains, Betty’s voice stands across the EP as the combining force. Her delivery is both poignant and extremely well informed. Betty sings well and knows why she should.

Bass, snare and jangly vocals sweeping across the soundscape of You’re In Love are reminiscent of perfect pop moments born out of the legendary Janet Jackson/Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis partnership. As I listen, I can almost visualise Ms. Jackson driving with girlfriends in a convertible. Across a desert. In black and white. Someone would lose a scarf and they would all laugh because the song is just that damn catchy and fun.

Right Here takes proceedings to a slower place but certainly one that deserves to be on The Movement. Whispery vocals float almost separately above the rest of the track. I can’t listen without fearing they are going to get blown away.  I would love to hear the vocal bare, without production.

Now. Down to the nuts and bolts. If universities taught people how to write the perfect pop song, High Society would be the required text. I could list all of the influences I hear such as Open Your Heart by Madonna, Affirmation by Savage Garden, I’ll Be Your Shelter by Taylor Dayne, Summerboy by Lady Gaga and others… but this songs needs no comparisons to warrant praise. It is pure pop perfection. I want it to last forever but am secretly delighted when it ends, allowing me to relive the experience all over again by pressing play.

And that my friends, is the sign of an irresistible pop record.

EP Cover

Do you like pop music? Do you support independent artists? Do you encourage vegans in their artistic pursuits? Buy The Movement today.

Listen to the full EP here: www.BettyWhoTheMovement.com

www.facebook.com/bettywhomusic

www.twitter.com/bettywhomusic

www.youtube.com/bettywhomusic

Who knows you can’t be replaced

I’m in love and for once it is something other than vegan food. Welcome to a music post with a vegan twist!

One of my hobbies is to troll around the Internet looking for music that tickles my fancy. I adore finding songs that speak to me. During my latest round of musical exploration I stumbled upon a track that was so instantly catchy, I had to walk out of the room and re-enter to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. The song I am referring to is Somebody Loves You by the artist Betty Who.

Betty Who 1

I am quickly discovering that the Australian-born, USA-residing Betty Who writes and delivers tunes that are smart, poppy, loveable and catchy as all get-out. Her powerhouse vocals take her songs to a level above the current cache of throwaway dance tracks and her Aussie twang instantly sets her apart from other vocalists.

Check out the song that has got me going weak at the knees for Betty Who (available as a free download!) before scrolling down to read my interview with the talented singer in which she shares her love of Kylie Minogue, vegan cupcakes and being an independent artist.

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