Wall of Sound PR

Brighton-based multi-disciplinary music company Small Pond are proud to announce that their latest Small Pond Presents: Emerging Part 2 compilation album will be released on 26th November 2021.

Building on the success of last year’s project, Small Pond’s ‘Emerging’ artist development project once again gives eight talented young acts (aged 16-25) from Brighton and the South of England the opportunity to rehearse, record, and release their music via Small Pond’s professional studio, label and PR set-up.

The first track to be taken from the record comes from Brighton songwriter and photographer Bridie Florence, whose utterly spellbinding new single ‘Rooted’ is out now.

Stream and share – HERE

Commenting on the track, Bridie says: “The song means a huge amount to me. Although I grew up abroad, I have had a crippling fear of flying for my whole life and never flown without my family. My parents separated when I was a teenager which meant travelling back and forth to see my dad abroad while my mum worked hard on making England feel like a home for us.”

“After 6 years of refusing to fly and a pandemic making me realise I’m desperate to leave the UK and see the world again, I booked myself onto an easyJet ‘Fear of Flying’ course where they fly you around Gatwick for 40 minutes. I didn’t tell my family I was doing it and FaceTimed them when I landed—it was all super emotional and a crazy experience. So, ‘Rooted’ is about me feeling a bit stuck in one place and my journey overcoming my fear of flying, amongst other claustrophobic things that have held me back all my life.”

From early online videos to her most recent 2021 singles ‘Enemies’ and ‘Mother’s House’, Brighton songwriter Bridie Florence has always kept the distinctive subtlety of her voice and married it with swelling harmonies, speaking her mind on love stories and everything in between. With the hum of Joni Mitchell and the buzz of electric Bob Dylan, Bridie played every instrument—even down to programming digital drums—on her 2016 debut, Mind in the Making.

The EP served as Bridie’s first showing of the mellow tunes that have followed her through an international life; a childhood that saw years in Ireland, Bahrain, Kenya and the UAE before the family finally settled in south-east England. With those surroundings proving not quite enough for her burgeoning creativity, Bridie taught herself guitar at 14, developing a sound that she confidently continues with—a hopeful voice that could be just as close to tears.

A life of movement gives importance to the family pack, and though a lone-wolf on her debut, Bridie has grown exponentially learning from artists around her and the impromptu jam sessions that come from being immersed in Brighton’s rich music scene. 

“I’m really over the moon that we can work with a new group of talented young artists on our ‘Emerging’ project this year,” comments Emerging project leader and Small Pond label manager Liam McMillan on this year’s compilation. “We’ve been working really hard behind the scenes at Small Pond to create a host of new projects that support our local scene and beyond. It’s been an extremely challenging 18 months, but delivering a project of this nature will undoubtedly have an immediate positive impact on our creative community.”

“The Emerging project was an amazing experience for me,” adds Bridie of her involvement. “It gave me the opportunity to have real strings on one of my songs for the first time which is something I’ve been dying to hear for ages. Antoine was so incredible to work with and we bounced ideas off each other seamlessly. I’m so happy with the track and I can’t wait for people to hear it, and hopefully relate to it and feel as though they can face their own fears.”

Further tracks from the album will be released over the coming weeks.

Small Pond Presents: Emerging Part 2 compilation is released 26th November 2021

Small Pond Presents: Emerging Part 2 tracklist:

01. Bridie Florence – Rooted
02. Maya Caskie – Ayumi
03. Harper – Small Mercies
04. every rose – Reservoir 
05. Dirty – Rat Trap
06. Big Bad – Priced Out
07. Masquerader – Pressure
08. Lambrini Girls – Big Dick Energy