10 YEARS OF LIMF ACADEMY
Has it really been 10 years? How many artists is that? How many gigs? How much new music?
There were dark days at the tail end of the Matthew Street Festival. As popular as it was, it was all a bit messy; there was a lot of drunkenness and, for a city that prides itself on culture, wading through all of this to see a Queen tribute band in the rain wasn’t particularly appealing.
Not only that, but the city’s arts infrastructure – or lack thereof – wasn’t supporting up-and-coming artists. They may have played the Matthew Street Festival, but beyond that, they were on their own. By the early 2010s the landscape was changing dramatically, and for a long time, artists were finding they had to leave the city in order to catch their break.
That’s what Floetry’s Marsha Ambrosius did, which led her to write and produce for Michael Jackson. Think about that; someone from Tokky produced Michael Jackson, and Liverpool at large kind of ignored it.
We were hemorrhaging talent, but in order to maintain our title as a music city, Liverpool had to actively diversify. Surely we can celebrate our history and pave a way for our future?
In 2013, the Matthew Street Festival was put out of its misery. Out of its ashes came the Liverpool International Music Festival. The goal of LIMF was to reflect Liverpool as a contemporary city of music. When Yaw Owusu was appointed lead curator in 2013, he understood the importance of creating opportunities for young talent to thrive.
And, thus, the LIMF Academy was born.
A nationally recognised and award-winning programme, any young Merseyside artist aged 16-25 can apply. For 12 months, each cohort receives everything from financial assistance to performance opportunities, marketing and regular masterclasses with industry leaders. Additional investment and mentoring is given to the top three artists of each year.
“We’ve got a load of amazing, raw talent in the city,” Owusu explains. “What we don’t have is interactions between those artists and the industry. So, could the LIMF Academy help the talent with their knowledge and skills, but also bring the industry to those artists?”
This is particularly important for Liverpool. Just last year, the Office for National Statistics found that the number of creative workers from a working class background has fallen to a measly 7.9%. In a climate that finds working class artists stifled and excluded, the opportunities provided by the LIMF Academy ensures that Liverpool-based musicians aren’t left behind. It isn’t just beneficial to the individual artists, it helps keep Liverpool culturally relevant.
The successes aren’t hard to locate.
Take Mic Lowry, among the first acts showcased by the Academy in 2013. Fast forward three years and they were signed to Universal, touring with Justin Bieber in stadiums across Europe.
Or XamVolo (2014-15); supporting Paloma Faith on her 2018 The Architect arena tour, duetting with her on stage at the O2 Arena and releasing ‘All The Sweetness on the Surface’. This dizzying mesh of soul, jazz and electronica was quite possibly the most accomplished debut album released by a Liverpool-based artist, at least since The La’s. It is a record that easily stands toe-to-toe as a contemporary with world class artists such as Anderson .Paak or Childish Gambino.
And it is still happening; Jalen Ngonda may have been one of the earlier alumni – joining the programme in 2015 – but 2023 was arguably his breakthrough year. A fine example of The Academy setting an artist up to take hold of their future. Eight years ago, watching Ngonda perform ‘Holler (When You Call My Name)’ on the ‘It’s Liverpool’ stage at Sefton Park for LIMF 2015, any soul fan watching would have immediately thought “Daptone Records would be perfect for him.” Daptone have been flying that flag since 2001, releasing acclaimed albums by Charles Bradley, Lee Fields and, perhaps most significantly, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. Ngonda finally released his debut full length LP via Daptone this year with ‘Come Around and Love Me’ – not only charting at number 18 on the physical albums chart, but receiving universal acclaim. “An exhilarating, hair-raising voice,” gasped NME. “A glorious tour around that golden era,” exclaimed The Guardian. “Beyond classic-R&B pastiche, en route to the heart,” pronounced All Music.
It doesn’t end there. Michael Aldag (Most Ready, 2020-21) is killing it right now, signed to 3Beat with 8.8 million streams in 2023 alone and multiple sold out UK tours. Jazmine Johnson (2020-21) recently released ‘Hell In High Heels’ with the acclaimed drum and bass producer Netsky, whose previous collaborations include Lil’ Wayne, Becky Hill, Beth Ditto and Rita Ora – so she’s in fine company. Eleanor Nelly (Most Ready, 2016-17) signed to the legendary Decca Records in 2018, Tonia (Most Ready, 2020-21) has just signed to 3Beat. Then you have a number of other independent artists who have been winning awards and pushing artistic boundaries, such as Tee and Ni Maxine. As with every other alumnus for the last decade, each of these artists are a unique voice, given an incredible stepping stone for their careers by the LIMF Academy.
After a decade, the LIMF Academy is only looking to the future. Owusu says that the ambition is for it to continue to grow in its impact and influence. “We have a responsibility to advocate for music creators coming from this region at this very critical time,” he says. “There is a real ambition for people who have come from this city and done well in the industry to come back and be connected, and I think the Academy can be part of the conduit for this to happen.”
Written by Shaun Ponsonby
