Third wave of FAC Artist Ambassadors announced, including Kano, Anna Calvi, Beth Gibbons (Portishead) & Shabaka Hutchings
Today we announce our third wave of new FAC Artist Ambassadors. We are proud to welcome singer-songwriter and guitarist Anna Calvi, whose accolades include Mercury Prize and Brit Award nominations as well as a European Border Breakers Award, and Adam Devonshire (DEV), bassist of British Rockband IDLES, who were announced as BBC 6 Music’s number 1 album of the year while spreading a message against sexism, racism, the polarisation of Britain in the wake of Brexit, nationalism and toxic masculinity in their songs, as new artist ambassadors. Devonshire says:
“Without music, and the artists that pour their very beings into their craft, my life would be a very empty place. The rights of artists are fundamental in ensuring great art continues to be created. Long may it continue.”
British rapper, songwriter and actor Kano, who is widely considered one of the pioneers of grime music and culture, and is also known as an actor, most notably playing the role of Sully in Top Boy, also joins the FAC as an artist ambassador. Having toured with Kano, we are excited to announce award-winning tuba player and composer Theon Cross, who transcends traditional genre conventions with strains of jazz, dub, hip-hop, soca, grime, and other sounds from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. We are also excited to welcome British-Barbadian saxophonist and clarinettist Shabaka Hutchings who pushes the boundaries of what musical elements are considered to be Caribbean, through his many projects as part of The Comet Is Coming, Sons of Kemet and Shabaka & the Ancestors, gathering a substantial number of awards, including winning the 2013 MOBO ‘Jazz Act of the Year’.
We are thrilled to announce Indie-Electro Pop artist Rae Morris from Blackpool, who’s collaborated with artists such as Clean Bandit, Bombay Bicycle Club and Tom Odell, as well as Los Angeles-based Julia Holter, composer, performer, and recording artist, who has written music for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. They are joined by award winning singer and songwriter Beth Gibbons best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the iconic British band Portishead, West-London artist Hollie Cook, who combines her unique vocal talent with charming charisma to craft her own dynamic strand of lover’s rock with tropical vibes, and American singer, guitarist, author, illustrator and actor, a true female rock icon, Brix Smith, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band The Fall.
We welcome North Yorkshire-born, singer and composer Ruth Patterson and North London singer and songwriter Benny Bizzie as dual ambassadors with Attitude Is Everything, representing their NEXT STAGE initiative. Ruth’s music has not only been featured as the main end title track of Hollywood blockbuster 'Ocean's 8’, but she’s also an activist campaigning to improve deaf and disabled people’s access to live music and has just been announced as a PRS Foundation Women Make Music fund grantee. Benny found ways to use music as therapy for expressing emotions of early childhood experiences and his early career as a Grime artist led to collaborations with Skepta, Meridian Dan, JME and Frisco.
We’re also delighted to welcome South London singer and songwriter Carmody, who has collaborated with Tom Misch and been championed by Zane Lowe, Guy Garvey and Jamie Cullum, exploring spirituality, depression, identity and grief in her lyrics. Her essay “Grief in a Grieving World” was published on Adwoa Aboah’s celebrated Gurls Talk.
Finally, we welcome London-based singer songwriter Frank Hamilton, who came up with #OneSongAWeek, a year-long project that started in his living room and finished with a Number 1 album on iTunes, featuring songs written with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Newton Faulkner. His song ‘More or Less’ featured Dodie on vocals and was premiered in The Independent along with a written piece in support of Mental Health Awareness Week.
David Martin, FAC CEO, said:
“At a time of enormous challenge for our industry, with a global pandemic threatening the very nature of our music scenes and the impact of Brexit laid bare, it’s with great pride that I welcome these incredible artists to the FAC. Their preparedness to stand with the FAC and add their voice to our cause at this time is testament to their integrity and their selflessness. As we continue to grow the FAC family in 2021, it’s an honour that so many creative, innovative icons see the FAC as a force for affecting positive change for artists and creators from across the whole musical spectrum.”