April 2012, just after the Easter weekend I’d been out late over the Bank Holiday and crawled bleary eyed from my pit. Armed with a bowl of cereal I sat at my computer to see what had occurred in the world overnight. I flicked open the 成人论坛 Introducing Uploader (its quality sounds often accompany my web browsing). A couple of hard rock tracks from local artists blew the cobwebs away; pretty good. A singer-songwriter piqued my interest. And then ‘click’... On to the fourth track of the morning I soon had to put down my spoon and desert Facebook. This song commanded my full attention. It was the most “stop dead in your tracks” moment I’d had since having to pull the car over as Zane Lowe had premiered Foals’ "Spanish Sahara" two years previously.
“Blind As I Am” was an astonishingly accomplished track; beautiful and vulnerable yet determined and somewhat feisty. I listened again. By now I was suspicious. This was, surely, too good to be true. The artist “Indiana?” Really? No social links recorded. Neither did search engines shed any light on this mysterious character. Whilst it’s not unheard of for me to receive music from an artist I don’t recognise (I played 643 local artists last year), there is usually a semblance of connection; a clue as to the identity of the artist. Due diligence dictates that before I air a track, I have to establish the veracity of the artist. Are they who they claim to be? Are they of this parish (it is a local show after all)? So along the lines of the “but are you really only 15 years old?!” email I’d sent to Jake Bugg eighteen months previously (he was!), I hit the keyboard with the aim of establishing the identity of the enigmatic Indiana. Within half an hour, the reply I’d hoped for appeared in my inbox.
“Okay, my real name is Lauren. Born and bred in Loughborough but very recently moved to Long Eaton. I work part time as a design assistant in a t-shirt printing shop. But music is my career of choice.”
Exciting times!
Indiana's 成人论坛 Introducing Uploader profile
On Wednesday evening, Indiana arrived at 成人论坛 Radio Nottingham complete with a keyboard player. She seemed self-assured and enthusiastic. It wasn’t until she drew breath after her first song that she admitted to being nervous as it was the very first time she’d performed in front of anyone. (I later discovered that she was actually terrified and had avoided any dairy products for some days ahead of the session!). The performance hit the airwaves through . The night it was broadcast there was a flurry of activity with seemingly everyone in the area want to know more about Indiana. The video accrued views very rapidly. Within days Indiana was being blogged about by tastemakers and music aficionados. Offers of management soon followed.
Spring turned into summer and in August we hosted our annual 成人论坛 Introducing slots at the Y Not Festival in the Peak District. Of course we invited Indiana along. She wasn’t quite ready for the full-on festival experience. I recall seeing her trudging through the mud in what had been White Converse! Nevertheless her performance was flawless and the frisson around her grew. We knew we were dealing with a star. Recommendations to Radio 1 for playlisting were well-received and ‘Blind As I Am’ hit the daytime national airwaves a few weeks later. Indiana recalls crying the first time it was aired on Radio 1. By June 2013, she was truly recognised as one of the rising stars of new music. She was invited to perform a Live Lounge at Radio 1 for The Queen! On the day upon which New Broadcasting House was opened by Her Majesty, there she was; Indiana singing “Heroes” along with Danny from The Script. (I just checked online; I didn’t dream it after all, Take a look at the photo above!).
Now the ball was well and truly rolling. The following year, the beckoned. Then a headline set on our stage . , a Top 20 single and a country-wide tour all heralded the arrival of a national treasure (not forgetting those appearances on Scott Mills’ Innuendo Bingo!).
Last week, Huw Stephens played tracks from “No Romeo” Indiana’s debut album, as his featured ‘album time’. It’s a time to be reflective and I feel proud to have played a small part in this incredible journey. And has Indiana changed? Nope! She remains the same warm charismatic individual who rocked up to 成人论坛 Radio Nottingham back in 2012. In fact, she was back in my studio just last weekend to do a repeat performance (which you can watch above). And she is effusive with her praise for both 成人论坛 Introducing and the local music scene. She is adored right back and everyone here is thrilled to see “No Romeo” sitting pretty in the album chart.
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