Words by Damien Russell
On Friday 28th July, MeMe Detroit is hosting and headlining at the Actress & Bishop – releasing her new single, ‘How She Runs’. Detroit is joined by Coventry rockers Vamoosery, the mysterious and ‘brutally delicate… entity’ The Holy Men, alongside Worcestershire based singer/songwriter Chloe Mogg.
Brought to us jointly by SoulRock Central Records (MeMe Detroit’s own imprint) and Birmingham Promoters the doors are set to open at 19:30 – the advance ticket price is £6 plus booking fee. For direct event information and online ticket sales, click here.
Bringing in elements of rock and the more accessible areas of grunge, running them through a radio-friendly pop filter and firing that mix straight into your ears, are MeMe Detroit and her band – Lewis Smith (Bass) and Barney Such (Drums). If you haven’t heard MeMe Detroit before she has an intriguing fusion of influences ranging from Radiohead, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters on the heavy side to Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and even Tina Turner on the lighter pop side.
In an interview in May 2015 with Counteract, Detroit herself explains that “one problem I’ve been having is falling in-between indie and rock. I’m not heavy as rock, but heavier than indie. Live people have said we sound quite grungey, and there definitely is a grunge influence, there’s a new genre I suppose, grunge indie, it’s kind of poppy too maybe grindie?! Grop!? Grindie-grop, haha.”
But this isn’t just a straight up Meme Detroit gig, it’s more than that. It’s the launch party for her new single, ‘How She Runs’, and even coming from a band fitting the description ‘different’ this new release is something else.
Managing to give off an impression of being simultaneously driving and mellow, ‘How She Runs’ was a commission by up and coming director Steven Murphy who asked specifically for a song with an ‘eighties feel’ to be added to the soundtrack of his new feature film My Saviour. As someone whose Facebook page states is ‘an indie/grunge wave of sultry sublimity’, I can’t help but think that capturing that ‘eighties feel’ must have been a challenge.
‘How She Runs’ has already received significant media coverage, and is a bit of a radio darling in particular with BBC Introducing, Brum Radio, SRB Radio and even Valley FM in Australia.
And it’s not just radio popularity. MeMe Detroit’s recent pre-release Pledgemusic campaign received 129% of its initial target. To say this record is hotly anticipated may not be overstating things. And why would it not be? Kicking off 2017 with a Bowie tribute night at The Night Owl and following that with sets at Dares Bar and The Roadhouse, MeMe Detroit has hardly had a quiet year even if the new single has been a fair time in the making.
The first announcement ‘How She Runs’ was in the pipeline was on the 27th January, but it wasn’t until the 12th March before the first day of recording took place. Then add another month, taking us to April 17th, for the official release date. We’re now a further three months on, and while that does seem like a long wait to me in these times of digital recording there seems to have been little slowing of support both online and at Detroit’s live shows.
So, how will this new 80’s element fit in with the pop, rock and grunge influences that have driven MeMe Detroit this far? Get yourself down to the Actress & Bishop on the 28th July to find out. Or check out the official video below:
‘How She Runs’ – MeMe Detroit
MeMe Detroit launches her new single, ‘How She Runs’, at the Actress & Bishop on Friday 28th July with support from Vamoosery, The Holy Men, Chloe Mogg – as presented by SoulRock Central Records and Birmingham Promoters. For direct gig info, including online ticket sales, click here or on the Birmingham Promoter’s logo below.
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For more on MeMe Detroit, visit www.memedetroit.com
For more on Vamoosery, visit www.soundcloud.com/vamoosery
For more on Chloe Mogg, visit www.chloemogg.wixsite.com/chloemoggmusic
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For more from the Actress & Bishop, visit www.facebook.com/Actressandbishop
For more from Birmingham Promoters, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.birminghampromoters.com
