Tag: British Musician

Allgemein, Concerts

Howl at Turin Brakes

kekoaskorner

Thanks to Mainland Music I got to actually see Turin Brakes this year. A few years back they performed at the Zermatt Unplugged in Zurich and I only got to hear them from outside since I didn’t have tickets for that show. They smashed it and I really wanted to see them too so last Wednesday I finally had the chance.
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An Italian band called Dog Byron opened up. They performed quite a few songs of their record Eleven Craters. I loved the voice of Max – the lead singer. He has a very deep characteristic voice you can listen to all night. Make sure to check them out on Spotify.
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A little after 9 the four lads took the stage in a very casual manner. Turin Brakes presented songs from their new album Invisible Storm as well as old songs from their 9 year career as a band. Turin Brakes started with “Would you be mine”, “Wait” and “Life Farms”. Around 100 people came to the London lads at Papiersaal. I loved the atmosphere. We had space to dance and just enough space to fully enjoy the brilliant music.
“Future boy”, “State of Things” and “Rain City” were next. Turin Brakes are able to play slow songs as well as rock songs but what I enjoy the most is that all of them have a certain rhythm. I was stamping, clapping or nodding the whole time. Eddie the base player looked a bit wild to me and he confirmed it when he said that he loves wolfs and feels like he is almost one. So he asked us:

Zurich, are you ready to howl with me?

The whole Papiersaal howled a few times while the first chords of “Lost in the woods” started. One of the highlights of the evening to me. “Last chance” and “72” followed which I really liked too. Such a good rhythm. Gale – the guitar player – tried to joke with us but no-one laughed so Eddie started howling again. Apparently Swiss people like to howl 🙂
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The set continued with “Painkiller”, “Fishing 4 a Dream” and the title track to the new record “Invisible Storm”. Olly said that they had some time off today and watched some Swiss people doing loops with their bicycle and now in their mind every Swiss person can do this. For my international readers: No, not every Swiss person is able to do this ;D
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Like they said they know that we know that they know that we know that they will head off stage soon only to come back if we are loud enough 🙂 So “Black Rabbit” was the last song before the break. The audience got louder and louder. We enjoyed a great evening with amazing live music from Turin Brakes.
Rob on the drums was the first one to come back on stage to play “Keep me around”. Of course we wanted to keep them around! 🙂 My favourite song and the loudest so far was “Everything All At Once”. We got another one called “Under Dog”. The four lads from London left the stage again and we started howling again. Eddie was so happy about this and promised to come back soon after they came back for a 2nd encore.
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“Don’t Know Much” and the final song “Slack” finished this evening. I was really glad to have seen them however I think last time was more special when I couldn’t see and just hear them. 🙂
Have you seen Turin Brakes? Share your experience below and leave a reply.

Check out my latest gigs: Seven, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Sunrise Avenue
Allgemein, Concerts

Back to the 90s with Liam Gallagher

kekoaskorner

When Liam Gallagher announced his gig in Zurich I knew I really wanted to see this legend. But I was a bit cautious and I didn’t want to buy tickets right away. To be honest with you I was afraid of him not showing or showing up and leaving after 20 mins. So when I won the Gadget concert pass I was super happy and I was looking forward to the gig.
I walked into the venue and I felt like I was transported into the 90’s somewhere in England. Lots of people looked like part of the band and I felt right at home 🙂 At 8 the supporting act The Sherlocks from Sheffield took the stage and they really had a hard time warming up the crowd. It is not easy to perform in front of a rock legend but they did quite a good job however you could sense that everyone was waiting for Liam Gallagher.
Liam Gallagher
At 9 on the dot the lights went off and the long intro started. Liam Gallagher did show up and what a show it turned out to be. He started his set with “Rock’N’Roll Star” and the crowd went crazy. Everyone was singing along and people loved it. I have to admit I think I was too young to actually understand how much influence Oasis had on everyone back then. But I understand it now. Another Oasis song “Morning Glory” followed before “Greedy Soul”. “Wall of Glass” should be used in speech therapy for all the people who have got problems with their “S”. It was absolutely hilarious how he highlighted the S at the end.
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Whatever he said between songs was either not understandable or swearing. But to be honest I liked it and I didn’t expect anything else. Everyone had a brilliant time and were singing their hearts out. “Paper Crown”, “Bold” and “For What It’s Worth” were some of his solo songs and the crowd went a bit quiet since I think most people were there to listen to the Oasis songs. The smart rock star that he is he mixed in another 2 Oasis songs into the set list and people absolutely loved “Some Might Say” and “Slide Away”.
“Come back to me”, “You better Run” and “Universal Gleam” followed. Honestly I didn’t know a lot of the songs but I still had the best time watching this legend perform and looking into the crowd and seeing how much they enjoyed themselves. The time flew by as “Be Here Now” started. Then finally the song literally eeeeveryone knows started. 1 guitar and Liam Gallagher singing

Today is gonna be the day
That they’re gonna throw it back to you

The huge singalong started and during the chorus the crowd took over. It was magical to witness “Wonderwall” live. A truly special moment. Time to leave the stage after an hour.
Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher came back for 2 encore songs. First up “Cigarettes & Alcohol” . A classic. Then the last song “Live forever” was another song that everyone seemed to be able to singalong too. The little time capsule we stepped into was unfortunately over. I have to say that this was the first gig after the Script in Dublin of course that I really enjoyed in 2018. Plus Liam Gallagher proved to be an absolute professional. He played his set even though City was playing. I really hope that he was able to catch the highlights after the show 🙂
Have you ever been to an Oasis or Liam Gallagher show? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Have a look into my last reviews: The Script, Galantis, Dermot Kennedy
Allgemein, Concerts

Can you feel Dermot Kennedy's struggle?

kekoaskorner

Thanks to Loads of Music I got a last minute invite to the sold out Dermot Kennedy show at Papiersaal last night. I was pretty excited since this Irish lad got hyped the last few months. I wanted to see for myself if this hype and my Artist2watch is justified or not.
Dermot Kennedy chose Sam Fender as his supporting act. I am sure you’ll be hearing more of this British talent from Newcastle. He was named onto the BBC Sound of 18 list and yesterday we got to see more of this young artist. His 7 song set started with “All is on my side” and “Living without”. My favourite song was “Millennial”. It was very powerful. He mentioned that normally he’s playing with a band but today he was alone on stage with 2 guitars and a keyboard.
Sam Fender
After some more jokes he continued with “Greasy Spoon”, “Start again” and “Hold out”. He finished the set on the keyboard and sang a powerful ballade called “Use”. I like the set and I am sure that we’ll be hearing more of him soon.
Dermot Kennedy
Dermot Kennedy came on stage shortly after 9. He seemed like he was either sick or drunk. He wore trainers, a hoodie and a hat it seemed like he was ready for bed. Dermot Kennedy started his set with “Evening” and his incredible voice resonated through the venue. You could hear a pin drop and no-one was chatting. It really was a special atmosphere. He continued with “A Closeness” and “All my friends”. All of his songs are slow ones and his voice is full of struggle and pain. The stories he tells with his songs are powerful and full of emotions.
After each song he said a quiet thank you and if we were lucky he murmured a short explanation into the mic how the song came about. I was actually asking myself how people understand him who don’t know English that well. He didn’t make us feel welcomed even though he is still a new artist. Tom Grennan has got some pretty deep sh*t as well but he has been a joy to watch. He looked at the audience spoke with us and owned the stage. I am honestly not sure if Dermot Kennedy is arrogant, shy or just doesn’t give a damn anymore.
Dermot Kennedy
My highlight of the set was “Young & Free”. This will be his next single. I loved it and enjoyed this song a lot. I was fascinated by the drummer Micheal who was super passionate and did an amazing job! Dermot Kennedy said that everyone has a place or a person to go to where you feel safe. So for him it’s a little island off the west coast of Ireland and this is what the next song “For Island Fires and Family” is about. I spent the whole song listening to his every word. A very beautiful ballade and my depressing mood skyrocketed. Like I already mentioned in my Artist2watch post Taylor Swift put “Boston” on her Spotify playlist and we got to listen to it live now.
Apparently it was the best time in Dermot Kennedy’s life busking on the streets of Boston. On the Setlist it says “Malay” but it doesn’t have a name yet. It’s a new song and a work in progress. The song everyone knew came on “Moments Passed” and a little more than just the super fans started singing a long. “Glory” and “After Rain” finished the set without an encore. After 50 mins Dermot Kennedy has done his job for the day. He left a sold out venue wanting more and clapping and wooping for minutes hanging. People couldn’t believe that it was finished already and hung back. Only after a few minutes of disbelief people started queuing up to reclaim their jacket.
Dermot Kennedy
I felt his struggle. But was it also a struggle to be on stage for him? I was left wondering and a bit disappointed to be honest. I get the hype around his voice but I don’t think he deserves a hype around his person. If he really was sick he could have told us. I think everyone would have understood. But his performance yesterday doesn’t make me want to see him again which is a shame really.
Did you feel the struggle? Leave me a reply below and share your opinion on Dermot Kennedy.

Kekoas last gigs: Alt-J, Tom Grennan, Stone Sour
Allgemein, Concerts

All of the Lights

kekoaskorner

Yesterday I enjoyed my first gig in 2018. Alt-J played their biggest show in Switzerland to date at Hallenstadion Club and it was a super special gig. I am very grateful to Just Because for bringing these interesting artists to Switzerland and for always supporting my blog.
Like I said in my New Music post I am so curious about these british lads. So I got to the venue with mixed feelings. As soon as Alt-J started their show they had me. I was in awe of their light show and I still am. It was fascinating to see how it matched the music. The patterns and the colours were absolutely incredible. Who would have thought that a few light bulbs can make for such a show!


I do have a few pictures to show you but this show is really hard to catch in a picture. This is why I recommend you to go onto my Instagram page and have a look at my Alt-J highlights. The trio started their show with “Deadcrush”, “Fitzpleasure” and “Something Good”. I spent the first few songs staring at the lights and was mesmerized by it. “Nara” and “The Gospel of John Hurt” followed. I finally got round to focus on the voice of Joe Newman. He’s got a super special way of singing but it totally matches their sound and their show.

Before “In Cold Blood” Alt-J spoke to their Swiss fans and the first woop’s were heard. But I gotta say the crowd was very quiet but I guess everyone was just fascinated by the show. What I really loved about last night’s audience was that they were really relaxed. Everyone had a good time even if they weren’t the loudest crowd I’ve seen at least they seemed to enjoy themselves. “Ripe & Ruin”, “Tessellate” and the Intro of “This is All Yours” followed my favourite Alt-J song.
Alt-J
The lights sparkled and changed colours from green to pink to blue. “Every other Freckle”, “Hunger of the Pine” and “Bloodflood” were next. I wasn’t really dancing because I was watching the show so I started to get really cold. I think there was also a draft in the Hallenstadion and I looked like an eskimo with my jacket and scarf on 🙂 Finally for Matilda the crowd started to wake up and dance a little more. For the last few songs “Dissolve Me”, “Pleader” and “Taro” there was quite a good atmosphere. After an hour they played “Left hand free” before Alt-J went off stage for the encore.

Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton and Thom Green obviously came back for two more songs before they sent their Swiss audience back into the snowy rain to get home. The encore began with an intro of their debut record An Awesome Wave. Their huge hit “3WW” followed. But my favourite song because of the light show and the up-tempo feel of the song was “Breezeblocks”. Alt-J put all the lights in action with as many colours as possible and it was a brilliant to their 90mins set.
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Were you at the gig yesterday? Did you enjoy the light show as much as me? Leave a reply below.

Check out my latest gigs: Hoodie Allen, Stone Sour, Tom Grennan
Allgemein, New Music

New Music: Relaxer by Alt-J

kekoaskorner

Alt-J is a current 3 piece British band from Leeds. Alt-J fans are enjoying their unique indie electronic pop since 2007. Last year they released their 3rd album Relaxer and lucky us Just Because is bringing them to Club Hallenstadion on Sunday, 21st February 2018. There are still tickets available on Ticketcorner: Just click here.
Alt-J reminds me of an artist called Jean-Michel Jarre who I’ve seen a few years ago. Their sound seems to go in this direction. From instrumental tunes to main stream songs over to very mellow songs. It is quite interesting and I am looking forward to see how their Live show is. Will they be working with lights and laser? Will it be very DJ-like? I’ve got lots of questions and the answers will follow next Monday right here on Kekoas Korner.
Enough talking let’s listen to some music! The lead singer of the record is a feature with Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice and is called “3WW”:

Special right?! Special is always good. I love how the song starts really quiet and slow and it builds and it breaks again. And another special song of the new album with a beat that I like is called “In Cold Blood” and is their 2nd single of the album Relaxer.

And finally I want to show you an old song “Matilda” from their debut album An Awesome Wave. Over the years the band experienced some changes but also great success. Alt-J played various festivals and won the British Mercury Prize in 2012. Another fact is that Alt-J’s band name looks actually like this ∆. But I guess no-one would be able to pronounce the name. To me this is another interesting fact about the band. And you guessed right I have another fun fact about Alt-J. The cover of Relaxer was especially made for them by a Japanese artist Osamu Sato who created the Playstation Game LSD.

Alt-J_-_Relaxer_cover
wikipedia.org

Track list:

  1. 3WW
  2. In Cold Blood
  3. House of the Rising Sun
  4. Hit Me Like That Snare
  5. Deadcrush
  6. Adeline
  7. Last Year
  8. Pleader

Sounds interesting? So go get your tix for Sunday and say hi to me at the gig 🙂 If you can’t go keep following Kekoas Korner on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to keep a close eye on the concert.
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Allgemein, Concerts

Jake Isaac and his garage gig at Papiersaal

kekoaskorner

Just Because brought the brilliant Jake Isaac back to Papiersaal on Sunday night. Around 200 people mostly female spent their evening with this talented musician and his band. To be honest with you I didn’t know many songs but it turned out to be an energetic gig nevertheless.


At 8 o’clock the support called These Your Children took the stage. The duo Joe and Beka were supported by a young drummer. The trio started their set with “Get up & go” and “Sing for you”. The next song “David” is a very sad ballade with an emotional topic. And then they asked us if it was okay if they covered a song. They came down to the audience and played a lovely acoustic version of Whitney Houston’s “Dance with Somebody”. “Set a fire” and “Real Love” are two very cool uptempo tracks and they made everyone dance and even sing! So all in all this was one of the best support acts I’ve seen this year!
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Around 9 Jake Isaac came on stage with a huge smile and played “Lonely are the brave”. He was supported by three other musicians who had a good time as well. The four of them immediately transported a very welcoming good vibe. After the song Jake said that he had four rules and everyone got serious. He laughed and said don’t worry it’s not that serious. So here are Jake’s four rules for his audience:

  1. Have fun
  2. Dance even if you can’t dance!
  3. Sing even if you don’t know the lyrics
  4. Most importantly: HAVE FUN! 🙂

After a huge laugh he started “Fool for you” and everyone clapped along. “One and Only” made me want to dance and if I didn’t have super sore muscles from the Marteria gig the day before I would have danced way more. I also looked around the audience and everyone really seemed to have fun which was wonderful to see. Next it was time to sing! During “Home” we were the backing choir and it sounded brilliantly. When he finished he had his thinking cap on and then suddenly decided to skip a song and go straight to “Still”. He told the musicians and they easily adapted. It really was lovely to see how much fun they had playing their musicians and performing for us. It felt like we were in their garage listening to friends playing music.
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And now the slow part began. “Waiting Here” and “You and I always” are two beautiful ballades where his amazing velvety voice came out in full force. A little bit more uptempo was the next song “Will you be” again. The slow part was over. During “War is our name” we were back singing “Ohhhhh” 🙂 He asked us then:

Do you remember rule No 2?

Someone shouted: Dance! And he said exactly! 🙂 So please feel free to let loose during the next song “I got you” and the people really let loose and danced even more. During the last song “Long Road” Jake Isaac asked his assistant to walk around the audience and the people who were dancing the best got a free record! How cool is that?! But obviously this was done because of the customs restrictions in Switzerland. Bring Merchandising in is impossible for small artists. The costs are just too high so they just don’t take any with them which is a pity! I hope that there will be a solution soon.
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Jake Isaac left the stage at 10 o’clock. When he came back he said that there was a 10pm curfew but if he doesn’t get really bad looks from the people in charge he will do one more song. Someone in the audience shouted 5! And he said well let’s do “Lose my Mind” and we’ll see. He sang the song without any microphone and just with his acoustic guitar. It really was a special moment and a wonderful finish to a beautiful gig on a Sunday Night.


What I love about those small gigs is that you get to talk to the artists afterwards and let me tell you he was super lovely. He gave everyone a hug and apologized for being sweaty. 🙂 He even complimented the three girls in the front row who sang every song. So so nice! TCY was also there to talk to everyone and gave out free hugs 😉 So guys if you haven’t listened to Jake Isaac or These Your Children please do so now. They are great musicians, lovely people and well worth supporting!
Enjoyed the gig as much as me? Share your story on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or leave a comment below.

Check out my latest gigs: Marteria, Xavier Naidoo, Mando Diao
Allgemein, Artist2watch

Artists2watch: Tom Grennan & Jake Isaac

kekoaskorner

Just Because is bringing two amazing artists to Zurich in December and you can still get tix for both shows. Both musicians are born in England and very talented. In any case if you love amazing music from artists who will make it big one day but are at the start it is well worth to check out other shows of Just Because. They have a talented in booking brill musicians like Jacob Banks or Angus & Julia Stone.

Tom Grennan

Let’s start with Tom Grennan. He made it onto the BBC sound of 17 list which is a huge indicator that he will make it big soon. Previous nominees are Ellie Goulding, Adele, Hurts and the list goes on and on. Tom Grennan already had a hit as the voice of Chase and Status’s song “When it all goes wrong” which was named as the hottest record by Annie Mac. Before that he was busking on the streets of London and now he is working with the producer of Florence & the Machines for his debut record. All of this sounds super promising but as you know I can only judge someone after seeing him live.
Tom Grennan plays the Papiersaal on Dec, 17th and tickets are available on starticket. But of course YouTube allows us to check his music out before the show and boy he sounds really really good and I totally understand why he made the sound of 17 list. But have a listen for yourself:

 
His voice is amazing, innit? 😉 Tom Grennan has a nice raspy voice and seems very down to earth. And like I already mentioned I think he is a super talented singer songwriter and I am very much looking forward to see him in December.

Jake Isaac

Jake Isaac is playing the Papiersaal on Dec, 10th and tickets are also available on starticket. He’s played Glastonbury and supported Ella Eyre and Paloma Faith. To me that shows he must be very good and it is well worth to spend a few quids on a ticket to his gig. After a few EP’s Jake Isaac released his debut record this May called “Our Lives” and he was signed to a record label called Rocket Records which is owned by the legendary Elton John. But enough about his background, let’s listen to some music:

 
Jake has a very warm deep voice and I know that I will be clapping my hands a lot. He’s just got that rhythm and soul that I love and he really does remind me a bit of Jacob Banks. Since he has already been on tour I’m expecting a good show and lots of good music.
Sometimes it’s the smaller shows that will be in your mind for quite a long time. Do you know why? Because the musician can actually see the people and even a small conversation can arise. JP Cooper or The Coronas are good examples for that. So if you decide to go to these gigs please let me know and say hi. I’d love to get to know my reader’s opinion 🙂

Allgemein, Concerts

Under grey skies is a lot of good music

kekoaskorner

On Tuesday I got to see two brilliant artists: JP Cooper and Supporting him on his European tour the Irish band Picture This. Back home they are very well known but over here they are Newcomers.
I already started to feel sick when I went out so it was no wonder that by the time JP was one stage I had no voice at all. But first things first. I arrived at Papiersaal and this time it was mandatory to leave your jacket at the wardrobe. Me being sick and feeling cold I still had to give them my jacket. Plus pay 2 francs! So I was super furious but this feeling got stronger when I saw loads of people with jackets inside. Apparently they only started these shenanigans a bit later so the first to arrive were allowed in with jackets. This guaranteed chaos after the concert. I normally don’t add these kinds of things into my review because these things have nothing to do with the artist but is seriously taking the piss and I don’t understand it at all.
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At 8 Picture This took the stage and I had kind of a deja vu. A few weeks ago I saw the Irish lads of the Coronas right on this stage and Ryan sounded a bit like Danny. However Picture This do have their own sound and I really really liked it. I also loved how Ryan spoke with us and told us some stories to the songs. For example the song “Jane” was written for a specific girl but he didn’t want to make her feel that special in naming the song after her so he just picked a random name. They started their set with “Let’s be young”, “Everything I need” and “Dream” – A beautiful ballade. Just before “Jane” we enjoyed “Addicted to you”… Well we is a bit much. There were loads of people chit chatting about their day. I seriously don’t understand how you can be so disrespectful to an artist.
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The last three songs “Never Change”, “You & I” and “Take my hand” were over way to fast and the lads left the stage after some more stories. I mean they really had to go since Ireland was playing the World Cup qualification game and they had to cheer for them 😉 In case you wonder Ireland unfortunately lost against Denmark and is not going to the World Cup next year.
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And I deffo lost my voice by 9pm while JP Cooper stepped on stage with his first song “Under grey skies” which is the title track of his debut record. Me trying to “woohoo” after the song to show my appreciated failed royally. So I enjoyed the concert quietly. The 2nd song “She’s on my mind” is a brilliant track to dance to and I was very glad I came. Next we heard “Change” and “Birthday”. After which someone shouted “happy belated Birthday JP!” and the whole crowd started to sing Happy Birthday. He was very touched and said I think this will be a good night.
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It took him quite a long time to be successful with his music. Before his first record “Under Grey Skies” he released a few EP’s of which he will sing the next song called “Satellite”. A beautifully slow song with which he could show off his wonderful voice was this ballade called “Streetlights and the moon”. “Closer” he wrote for his son since he hopes that one day his son will understand why Daddy’s gone quite a few times during the year – A very touching moment. With “September Song” he sang the song literally everyone knew and loved. This song gave him his breakthrough and I am sure will be only the start of a great career.
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“Wait” and “Shivers” were next. He then apologised to the people who came here and thought he was a dance artist since he collaborated with Jonas Blue to sing one of my last year’s summer hits “Perfect Strangers”. For the last song before the Encore he told us the story about him loosing his passport while he was in the process of writing his new album. So he thought I have to write a song about this and here it was “Passport Home”. After a quick break he came back on to cover a John Lennon song. However I know “Jealous Guy” by Gavin DeGraw and I did see some similarities. Both guys sang it beautifully and I had goose-bumps. Thank you JP for singing this beautiful song.
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After 90 minutes JP said Goodbye with “Good Friend” and I really do hope that he is coming back soon and I can enjoy the concert without being feverish and including my voice. Of course the jacket chaos started and we decided to stay close to the backstage door since we were told that he’s coming out to meet fans. He did quite quickly after the show and I unfortunately couldn’t tell him at all how I loved his gig since I couldn’t utter a word. He understood anyway.. What a lovely guy and amazing musician so it is well worth supporting him.
Were you at one of his gigs? Leave your opinion on twitter, facebook or instagram or down below in the comment section.