Unsigned

Introducing the incredible Sinead O’Brien opening up for the Brian Jonestown Massacre at Concord 2 Brighton. One to watch. Photo by Chris Lopez

Sinead Obrien performing at Concord 2 Brighton 11/10/18

I met singer songwriter, Kojo, nearly 20 years ago and we’ve kept in contact ever since.  When Kojo reached out for an updated shoot I thought it would be a great chance to catch up and shoot at the same time.  Kojo was flying off to Barbados the following day so time was crucial and luckily for him the stars alined and we met up on a very wet day in Nottinghill.

Kojo hasn’t changed a bit in 20 years and he was vibing to do some shots together.  I did a few shots against some wicked wall paper in a pub to get us both warmed up, followed by some street shots around the neighbourhood.

I wanted to get more out of Kojo and break his hard look so as we took shelter from the rain under the doors of what use to be the club Subterranea, I asked him to start shaking his dreds around.  The results were amazing!

Kojo Rigault – Copyright Chris Lopez 2017

Finally managed to hook up with the best unsigned band on the circuit.

One of the last gigs on their UK tour the band did not disappoint the punters with an incredible performance at the Cellar Bar in Oxford. 17/02/17

As their hair has grown longer over the years so has their music evolved into an inevitable progression of pure self indulgent hedonistic, electric rock.

https://www.facebook.com/hiddencharms/

Hidden Charms performing at the Cellar, Oxford. Photo by Chris Lopez

A few weeks ago we hooked up with the incredible Jake Emlyn to produce a pledge video to help him raise funds for his next single.

Jake Emlyn – Swimming. Filmed and produced by Chris Lopez & Romain Kedochim

Introducing, The Scruff Club.  Hailing from Camden Town The Scruff Club consist of Louis – vocals & guitar, Lucas – guitar, James on Bass and Alex on drums.  With a stomping London sound these former music students are about to release their debut EP. If you like the Libertines, Jamie T etc then you’ll definitely be feeling this.

Photos by Chris Lopez

The Scruff Club recording at Lightship 95 Studios, Isle of Dogs, London 07/10/15 Photo by Chris Lopez

The Scruff Club recording at Lightship 95 Studios, Isle of Dogs, London 07/10/15 Photo by Chris Lopez

Jake Emlyn is back on the scene after taking a year out to grow and develop.  Jake is putting the final touches to his album and is collaborating with BB to form a new project, NOiDEA, which I’m positive you’ll be hearing more of in the coming months.  It was truly brilliant to shoot with Jake again. He is a true talent, artist and I get such a buzz when working with him.  The shots were taken in an amazing disused primary school NE London which added to the retro vibe of the images. Can’t wait to hear more music from these guys and Jake’s solo album. I’ll keep you posted. Copyright Chris Lopez 2015

NOiDEA press shoot. Photo by Chris Lopez

NOiDEA press shoot. Photo by Chris Lopez

As many of you know I’m quite choosy about who and what I photograph these days so when I came across Ruth signing her heart out in my friends kitchen I was blown away by her vocal technique that I found myself offering my services within minutes of meeting her.  She played me a track called Mercy which is an amazing track, global No 1.  Ruth is pure talent both as a singer and as a songwriter and I’m positive you’ll be hearing more from this gem in the future.  We had a great shoot in Bristol and we’re both really pleased with the results.

Camera – Nikon D3, 50mm Nikkor lens

Copyright Chris Lopez 2014

Ruth Royall

If you read my blog you’ll know that I’ve been working with a great new band called the Hidden Charms. I recently agreed to drive the band up to Suffolk to play at a friends 21st/graduation party on a beautiful farm in the countryside.

Every few years a band or singer will come along who totally blow my mind and this is one of those moments.  Ultimately, the sound they produce for such a young band is authentic brilliant pure rock and roll blues.  Individually they all have something quite unique. collectively they absolutely smash the iconic image and sound of a rock & roll band.

The lead singer Vincent, at a glance, looks very much like John Lenon but when he puts on his little round yellow glasses its hard not to assume that this guy is either trying to emulate his idol, he’s in a Beatles tribute band or as in this case he has to be a fucking good musician to look like that.  Thankfully, Vinny has the talent, charisma and ability to pull it off.  Big things to come for these guys, both sides of the pond.

Copyright Chris Lopez

Hidden Charms press shoot.

Hidden Charms Press Shoot, London – Monday 10th March
I get a real kick out of discovering a new band that flick my switch and this band do just that. With no real preparation we hit the streets of Pimlico to see what came out. Battersea Power Station made a great background for a couple of the shots and plenty of textures, lines and shapes to work with along the river.

Let me tell you a little story.

When I was around 17 yrs old I use to take my fathers Olympus OM-1 camera out, without him knowing, to photograph my friends bands. I soon got the bug for shooting music and when asked to photograph a new band called Dirty Boots during a rehearsal at a local pub  I jumped at the chance. When I first saw this frame in the contact sheet, it was at that exact moment that I decided I wanted to photograph bands for the rest of my career.  The guy in the foreground is Henrik Takkenberg who ended up becoming my best amigo and partner in crime.  The composition, depth of field, triangles, contrast and grain make this image so appealing to my eye.  Henrik sadly committed suicide in 2008 making this image the most powerful, emotive and important image in my entire archive.  The rest is history as they say.

Nikon F2a – 105mm

RIP – Henrik Takkenberg – Dirty Boots 1994 – Copyright Chris Lopez