The FAC announces new Artist Ambassadors, including Bob Geldof, Aluna, Kelli-Leigh, Ghostpoet, Hannah Peel & Shaun Ryder
The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the UK artist trade body, is delighted to announce nineteen new Artist Ambassadors from a diverse range of backgrounds, helping to grow the organisation’s community and amplify it’s message of fair representation for artists.
We are beyond excited to welcome Bob Geldof as a new Artist Ambassador, who has not only won Brit Awards with his band The Boomtown Rats and been described as ‘one of the greatest story tellers’ by his colleague Bono of U2, but in 1985 was part of the phenomenon that was Live Aid, the mother of all charity concerts.
We are welcoming singer, songwriter and producer Aluna, one-half of multi-platinum duo AlunaGeorge, whose new solo project dissolves boundaries between culture, race, gender and genre. She is joined by the Mercury Award nominated artist Ghostpoet, whose lyrics subtly address immigrant identity in the present day, the rise of the far right, passport politics and skin colour as currency. We are also thrilled to announce Kelli-Leigh, whose unmistakable vocals feature on the Billboard dance chart and GRAMMY nominated number 1 ‘I Got U’ by Duke Dumont & Jax Jones, as well as Jordan-born, London-based singer-songwriter Ayah Marar who has been featured as a vocalist and writer on music from Calvin Harris, DJ Fresh, Camo & Krooked, Bassline Smith and Jack Peñate.
We are excited welcome DJ, house pioneer and one of the original founders of the UK's rave scene, as a leading figure of The Haçienda club in Manchester, Graeme Park, and British DJ and record producer Roni Size, who won the Mercury Prize for his ‘New Forms’ album and brought D’n’B to the forefront of dance-music news. They are joined by the Italo-English singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti, whose most recent album became his first UK number 1, and Mancunian singer-songwriter Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays and Black Grape, both winners of the ‘Godlike Genius Award’ from NME.
We’re excited to announce the London-based trio Dream Wife, who have soundtracked ‘Orange is The New Black’ and are proud to have worked with an all-female recording team for their latest album, having always been outspoken about holding up other womxn and non-binary people in the creative industries. BISHI, London singer, electronic rock-sitarist, composer and performer with Bengali heritage, joins them as a passionate advocate for diversity in the music industry & the gender equality of women in tech, having founded WITCiH: The Women in Technology Creative Industries Hub, a platform elevating Women & Non-Binary in tech. We also welcome the Slovenia-born, Glasgow-based DJ, producer, vocalist, club promoter & label boss Nightwave, who also regularly hosts production and DJ skill classes for girls and lectures at the EU initiative in Brussels as well as India, as a part of British Council’s Women In Electronic Music project.
We are excited to announce London-based singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Dave Okumu, who was born in Vienna to Kenyan parents and has worked with artists including Grace Jones, Amy Winehouse and Toddla T. He is joined by New York-based GRAMMY Award winning DJ and producer Roger Sanchez, who’s been dominating the dance floors and festival main-stages in every corner of the globe, as well as Brixton born musician, rapper, singer-songwriter and DJ Maxi Jazz, best known as the lead vocalist of British band Faithless.
We’re also delighted to announce Northern Irish artist, composer, producer and broadcaster Hannah Peel, who composed and recorded the soundtrack for Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, which earned her an EMMY nomination, as well as Porridge Radio, an idiosyncratic post-punk 4-piece from Brighton, whose album Every Bad was shortlisted as one of the Hyundai Mercury Prize’s 12 albums of 2020. The line-up is bolstered by The Lady Blacktronika, whose Femanyst alias has become known for her rebellious and innovative style of aggressive & unrelenting industrial techno sets tinged with elements of Hardcore and Gabber in her adopted home of Berlin.
Finally, we welcome Blaine Harrison, lead vocalist of British Indie rock band Mystery Jets, as a dual ambassador with our friends from Attitude Is Everything, representing their NEXT STAGE initiative. Blaine joins our previously announced dual ambassadors Rob Maddison and Ali Hirsz, campaigning for greater inclusivity across the industry.
David Martin, FAC CEO, said:
“I'm proud to welcome these incredible artists into the FAC family as our newest ambassadors. They join those announced in May, as we continue to increase the diversity, representation, experience and knowledge within the FAC.
It is these artists that create the records, pack the venues and sell out the festivals that make our whole industry a success story. We welcome them at a time when the music industry and in particular, music creators, are facing an existential challenge from the impact of the global pandemic. The UK industry is also facing further threat from the potential impact of Brexit. I'm therefore honoured that these artists are standing up and lending their voice to the FAC, as we work to represent the rights and interests of the artist community.”