Highlights of 2014

Well its the last day of year and we would like to thank all our supporters for being with us on this journey. I hope you enjoy all our favourite memories from this year, which range from the launch of our EP and our fire in the streets, to Santego quitting smoking and shutting down his set with Solsine. It has definitely been a year of growth for all of us individually as well as a collective. As with every year, this year has had its ups and downs. But like any real family we got through them together and are ready to do it bigger and better in 2015.

We wish you all a...

Here are our highlights of 2014

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

Just getting Started

 We officially have our own body of work an it feels nothing short of amazing. The best part, is that we did it together.

Present Minds after a performing at 4i's mixtape launch

 Here are some of our thoughts on our new EP 'Hidden Identity' which is available on soundcloud now

Favourite song: Sweet song

RuChi's Thoughts

How does it feel to have your own body of work? 

How does it feel to have your own body of work?
Present Minds having their own body of own shows progression and growth, it also shows how versatile we are as a collective whilst still being able to have fun with each other which makes the work and effort that goes into making an EP worth while and easy. 

What's it like to perform songs live?
Present Minds performing the songs live off the EP 'Hidden Identity' has been fun and cool. Each performances has allows us to grow and communicate effectively with our audience whilst still catching a good vibe. Performing on stage provides you with an opportunity to goconquer your fears whilst delivering a great performance.

I enjoy performing sweet song because it has got a a nice catchy melody which is easy for the audience to listen recite the lyrics themselves too. 

Santego's thoughts

what is your favourite song on the EP?

My favourite song from our latest EP is "Sweet Song", mainly because I feel it engages with the audience the most and gets the best response.

How does it feel to have your own body of work?

It's great to have a body of work that we can promote and showcase to our followers. In my opinion, I believe it's imperative to have a foundation of work that people can always refer back to, inevitably this will demonstrate our growth as musicians. 

What is the best thing about performing your songs live?

Performing our songs live is a helpful way to understand our strong and weaker areas. Seeing how the audience responds gives us an idea of different ways to approach our music, song writing and developing our sound

It seems like 'sweet song' is a popular choice amongst the group. Check out the rest of our EP on our soundcloud.

Keep your eyes open of next weeks blog to view all our highlights of the year.  

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds

Twitter: @Presentminded_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

Getting to Know Present Minds Part 5

Getting to Know...

Age: 19

Role within the group: Ellsz is a Rapper/ Poet in the Present Minds movement.

Background: At a young age he found himself in and out of school because he says; and I quote, he had 'A problem with authority' during secondary school he found that he had a very creative mind and every creative art he put his mind to , he excelled in.


Question Time...

What made you start Rapping?

"Music stood out for me as it was a place where I found comfort , I could pick up things easily , instruments , rhythms and it gave me a way to vent out my emotions in art form."




What are your Current Pursuits?

"In 2015 I aims to develop my understanding on music and instruments further and broaden the arisen for myself and the PM collective.

In addition to that I also learning more about spirituality and obtaining a more conscious mind

Looking into the history of rap and the culture of hip hop"




What inspires you to continue Rapping?

"My everyday life inspires me to write, circumstances, situations, encounters etc. But my family inspire me the most; my mother Sonia Smith & my sister Christina (ChrissieFizz) the positive energy and support from the both of them is kind of what keeps me going, not to mention my team PM"




What do you Feel you Bring to the Group? 

"The people I work alongside are so talented they inspire me to progress , we keep a healthy competition between us which forces up to remain at the top of our game."




What is the best thing about being in Present Minds?

"The best thing about being a part of Present Minds is watching my team grow and progress."

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534

Getting to Know Present Minds - Part 3

Diamond

Age:20

Role within the group: Rapper, Singer
and Dancer

Current Pursuits: Being a man of many talents Diamond is focused on developing all his skills in order to be the best all round artist he can be

Quick Fire round...

What Made You start Rapping, Singing and Dancing?

"I didn't rap for years because I had a stutter , until I noticed that I could rap with out stuttering, even now I still stutter just rarely. I've been around a dancing environment from my school days, training every evening after school. I then auditioned for and got into the Brit school furthering my ability to dance. This gave me the ability to develop my skills by allowing me to learn more technical styles. Being around so many musicians at the Brit school allowed me to experiment with my rapping more especially as I know from experience that I could rap without stuttering. That then brought me Into vocal training and starting singing , gradually found my style

and practiced!

What do you feel you bring to the group?
"I brought the group together so I guess I have a strong bond with everyone , I feel like I bring unity to my peers and brothers"







Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

Getting to Know Present Minds - Part 4

Age:20


Role Within the group: The Main Singer within the group


Current Pursuits:
RuChi is currently working on various projects with Present Minds including their latest E.P “Hidden Identity”. At the moment Present Minds has been focusing on raising their brand awareness through performing at Open Mics and different shows.

Step into The Hot Seat...

What inspired you start Singing and Rapping?

"From a young age I’ve been raised up listening to Hip Hop, so I would say music is something natural to me. I grew up hearing quite a lot of old school 90s music e.g. Hip Hop, Neo Soul, Jazz and Funk so that’s where the journey started. Also my past experience has inspired me to write songs and produce music that is tangible to my listeners."


What do you feel you bring to the group?

"I feel like as a singer within the group I’ve been told I bring an authentic soulful funk to the group."


What do you enjoy about being in Present Minds?

"I would say the most interesting thing about Present Minds is that individually we bring different musical aspects to the table whether it be Rapping, Singing, Dancing or Graphic Designing we have different roles to play which allows us to be versatile. As well as enjoying what we love to do and setting a high standard for the music we create as young musicians."

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

Getting to Present Minds - Part 2

Getting to know....

Age: 20 

Role within the group: one of the three rappers within Present Minds

Current Pursuits:
I am currently studying a degree course in Graphic and media design at London College of Communication in Elephant & Castle, while I'm pursuing my music career working with present minds and also with SOLSINE.









Question Time...

What inspired you to start rapping?

"Many things inspired me to start rapping, such as negative situations that allowed me to express my emotions. Also my close friends that make music too such as Ben Johnson who is one of producers in the upcoming group SOLSINE, Diamond who is part of Present Minds and my Dad who has a ridiculously large amount of hip hop vinyl records."

What unique quality to you bring to Present Minds?

"The other members of Present Minds say I bring a natural bounce in the rhythm of my lyrics, which adds a easy listening feel to our songs."

What do you enjoy most about being in the group?

"I think the best part of being in Present Minds is giving out a positive message mainly when we perform and when people understand our views on life"

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

A Night to Remember

If we could some up the night in three words they would be exciting, fun and fulfilling. There is nothing better than seeing the result of all your hard work and dedication. The only thing that could possibly top off a moment like that is being able to share it with your brothers. On Wednesday that's exactly what we did at the launch for our new EP Hidden Identity.

We definitely felt that everything that we are working towards is finally coming together and the most amazing ting about that is this is only the beginning.

It was a very intimate venue and we were pleasantly surprised by the massive turnout, we'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who came out to support us. It was most definitely a night to remember.

Poppy - Photography by Void UK

There were several amazing performances including acoustic sets from the likes of Connie Constance and Poppy.                                                                                                                          
We were also privileged to perform three of our own songs, including 'Grow Up' , from our up coming EP in front of such a warm and responsive audience. Performing our songs with a guitar gave us the opportunity to approach our music from a different angle which was very exciting.

We were also graced with a spoken word performance by 4i who energised the crowd prior to our performance.

Diamond - Photography by Void UK

One of the highlights of the night was definitely the closing performance by Diamond, who performed a poem to conclude the evening.

The night was most definitely a success and reminded us, if nothing else, that hard work really does pay off. It was great to share this incredible moment with our families and friends and we are looking forward to making many more memories like this launch,

Present Mind

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?

Getting to Know Present Minds - Part 1

First of all we want to start by giving a massive shout out to all our supporters! we really appreciate all of you. we feel that its important to know the people that you are supporting and over the coming weeks we'll be showing you guys a little bit of ourselves. Feel free to post up any questions you would like to be answered on our Facebook page or in the comment section below

Getting to know...


                        

Role in the Group: Dancer
Age: 20

Background: Swerv has been dancing for six years and jas trained at both the Brit School and Urdang Academy, He is focusing on becoming more versatile, being a dancer that is coming from a hip-hop background.

Current pursuits: He has decided to focus his efforts on a few choreography projects and making that transition from a freestyler to a performer. One of his major projects to look out for this year is the 'Overdose' music video off the Hidden Identity EP, which will be released at the end of this year.




Question time...

What made you want to start dancing?
"It didn't take me long to figure out I wanted to be a performer. Since I was presented with the opportunities , I've always chosen to dance, which has allowed me to become more confident with my ability. Coming out of 5 years of full time training into pursuing a career.
What motivates you to continue to dance?
"I understand you only get out as much as you put in. Hard work beats talent everyday"

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work - Colin Powell

Signed: Present Minds

Instagram: @presentminds
Twitter: @Presentminded_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Present-Minds/1534946346729141?