If you've been following any of the annual "ones to watch" hype in the press and online over the past month or so, you can't have missed Blackpool's 24yr old 'Little Boots'.
Miss Boots (real name Victoria Hesketh, which clearly sounds far too middle class) certainly seems worthy of the accolades she's been showered in - whether it be the BBC's sound of 2009 or an NME one to watch (in their words "Victoria ‘Little Boots’ Hesketh is going to peel open 2009 and gobble it like a ripe mango").
What I find staggering when you trawl through her YouTube channel is the speed at which this 'fame' has come about and the relatively lo-fi way in which she's portrayed herself.
The vast majority of her early tracks were covers (albeit very good covers), most featured her perched in front of a keyboard and synthesiser and there was no sign of any live performances.
Having said that there was one thing (aside from her obvious talent) that made her stand out and that was her visually arresting synthesiser, the now weirdly famous Yamaha 'Tenori-on' - a 21st century instrument that is made for the YouTube generation of music fans.
This £600 instrument provides a constant, iconic and strangely hypnotic focus that just keeps you watching as the layers build through a track (excuse any incorrect terminology, I'm no musician).
Little Boots is name checked on the Yamaha website, but that's about as far as it goes as far as I can see? Was this a case of some superb product seeding I wonder, or simply some good luck? If luck, then I'd suggest Yamaha have a conversation with 'her people' very quickly, so as to maximise the hype that shows no sign of abating any time soon.
There's a free download here.
Random musings from the world of brands, branded entertainment, sponsorship and life as a dad of two girls.
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