Tag: music

Allgemein, Concerts

Jacob Banks’ voice is pure magic

kekoaskorner

I’ve only discovered him a few weeks ago as you might have seen on my blog. I nominated him as one of my artists2watch and boy is he one artist to watch! I had the pleasure to listen to his voice yesterday at Mascotte Zurich thanks to Just Because. After listening to „Chainsmoking“ on YouTube I had high expectations but he did not disappoint.
 


First of all Jacob Banks brought out a young talented singer called Joy Crookes. She’s got a beautiful jazzy voice and plays the guitar. For all the guys reading check out how beautiful she is 😉 In addition to this she is also very funny and warmed up the crowd pretty nicely.
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At 8.30 Mr. Jacob Banks took the stage and I was blown away from the very first minute! I don’t have enough superlative words to describe his voice. Seriously if you are a fan of Rag’N’Bone Man’s voice then check out this guy. With „Worthy“ and „Unholy War“ he started gloriously and from reactions of the audience they were as blown away as I was. It took him only a few minutes to win over the sold out Mascotte who were clapping, wooping, whistling louder after each song.
Apparently both artists tonight had shit relationships because they used almost the same words to introduce their next songs. Me being cheeky is wondering if they might talk about each other ;-)) Oh well we’ll never know but we got a beautiful song called „Part Time Love“. He then took his e-guitar and sang „Pilot“. Just his voice and the guitar it was magical.
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„Silverlining“ and „Diddy Bop“ were next and then something happened which has never happened to me before. The music was quite loud so I put it my earbuds at the beginning of the concert and then suddenly one of them fell out. It seems like his voice popped it out. I couldn’t stop laughing. After he sang „Emty/Photograph“ he told us a joke:

What’s the church of Batman?
Christian Bale!

Everyone had to laugh! It was so random which made it very charming. After „Unknown“ someone from the audience shouted „Another Joke“ but he to sing his next song „Mercy/Grace“ so he we didn’t hear another joke. Overall he didn’t talk a lot but he didn’t really need to. His voice transported so much emotions that you felt connected to him without a lot of words in-between. So the next three songs „Love ain’t enough“, „Homecoming/Redbone“ „Sink or swim into Monster“ he sang without talking between them except a humble „thank you“.
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On the setlist it says „Talk my Shit“ when he’s supposed to say something to us. Very funny! This hour of incredible music went by way to quickly and the last song before the encore was „Unholy War“. Us front-rowers we were feeling it and were dancing to it. Again I have to praise live music! This song and his voice is undescribably good but live they are fantastic!

This song took my breath away when I first heard it and now I had the honour to listen to it live. „Chainsmoking“ is one hell of a song. I will add the YouTube video again because I was enjoying it too much to video it. However a snippet of this incredible song can be found in my Instagram stories. Mr Jacob Banks left the stage after this wonderful show and me and my two concert buddies felt blessed to have seen this guy performing live in such a small venue because believe me he will come back in a much bigger venue. Jacob Banks has a thriving career in front of him.
Were you there and witnessed Mr. Jacob Banks live? Please share your opinion with us in the comments below.

Allgemein, Artist2watch

Artist to Watch: Elliot Root

kekoaskorner

At The Coronas concert I learned about this band called Elliot Root. They are 5 musicians from Nashville, Tennessee who slowly built their fan base since 2009 by playing all around town. They were already opening for the famous Zac Brown Band and released a few short EP’s. Finally, in 2017 a proper album got released and is called “Conjure“. Let me show you their newest single 10’000:

Officially they’re in the Alternative/Indie Rock genre but to me they just have a great sound and brilliant rhythm. I love to listen to this song especially because of the light sound and the beautiful voice. I say that a lot I know but each voice is different and recently I’ve discovered some WOW-voices. But you also know me there’s nothing like seeing an artists live. Unfortunately they haven’t planned any European dates but maybe we get fortunate pretty soon. For now let’s watch this live video of “Wicked Lies”:

Full of energy, aren’t they?! Scott Krueger is the lead singer and plays the guitar. His voice sounds like he’s had his fare share of whiskey even though he is still quite young. A roughed up voice which sounds amazing is right up my sleeve. The four musicians Todd Bond, Melissa Mattey, Justin Smith and Sean Truskowski are fullfilling the band with their great play of guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. In 2015 Scott Krueger gave a phone interview to the Tennessean talking about Nashville and their influences:

We fit in (with Nashville) because we’ve taken a little bit from many different influences that the city has to offer and have applied it as honestly as possible to the music. I think that’s what’s great about Nashville … there is a diversity, and there is an understanding of all of the music from the people who live here

Elliot Root if you are reading this believe me Zurich, Switzerland has a big understanding of music too 😉
If you ask me how do they sound like I’d say difficult question. I actually don’t want to compare any bands since they are all unique. However they remind me a bit of Welshly Arms who I’ve recently got to watch live and Krueger reminds me of the lead singer of Billy Talent. Just have a listen for yourself and if you love them as much as I do follow them on all their social media accounts and check their page for tour dates.
An artist to watch for me but what do YOU think? Leave a message in the comments below.

Allgemein, Concerts

The Coronas are always good craic

kekoaskorner

Mainland Music brought the 4 lovely lads from the Coronas back to Zurich! It’s been years since I got to know them as the support of the Script. I immediately fell in love with their music and been a fan of theirs ever since. The thing is they are not just brilliant musicians but also very nice down-to-earth people.

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Polar Circles

This time Polar Circles a Swiss band from Lausanne got to be their opening act on the whole European tour. I really enjoyed one of their last songs a lot and they seemed like really nice people. I especially loved the red guitar <3
Just a little after 9 The Coronas took the stage at Papiersaal with their new single “Real Feel” off their latest album “Trust The Wire”. “Get Loose” and “Addicted to Progress” were the next two songs they chose to play. The lads went on with a mix of new and old songs. Their songs just get you immediately and within minutes everyone was rocking out. From time to time I was looking at people and they were smiling back! I absolutely loved the atmosphere. Everybody had a good time or how the Irish would say good craic.
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For “A Bit Withdrawn” Danny made us close our eyes to fully enjoy the song and it was well worth it. What a beautiful song – especially when you listen to it closely! “Who We Are” woke us back up and was full of energy! In “Dreaming Again” you can hear the Irish influence. It makes you sway from side to side and you can almost feel that you are in a proper Irish pub. From the new album this song “We Couldn’t Fake It” is one of the best in my opinion. “Gut Feeling” was next and it’s time to praise Danny incredibly special voice. The Irish accent and the voice itself is a mix that you just have to love.


My personal highlight of the show was when Danny stepped off stage and into the crowd to sing “Heroes or Ghosts” with us as back ground vocals. 🙂 This song is very old but still one of my favourites. Before the show I was able to meet him for an interview which you can read on my blog too. I took the chance to ask him if he could sing this song in Gaelic. So the 2nd verse of “Heroes or Ghosts” he sang in Gaelic. It was amazing!
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Before the title track of their last album “Closer To You” they played “Someone Elses’s Hands” a beautiful rock ballade. In “What A Love” we could prove our singing abilities again before Danny toned it down again for “Give Me A Minute”. Sitting at his keys we enjoyed this wonderful slow song. The last song before the encore was “Mark My Words” which Danny announced like this:

So we tell you that this is the last song before we go off stage and then you hopefully clap as loud as you can and then we come back to play more songs. I’m actually not suppose to tell you this! This is not how it works.

This gave everyone a good laugh and it just shows how incredibly funny and normal they are. As announced they left the stage and we started to shout “One more song, one more song”. They came back on and he said well actually we’ll play four more songs! 🙂 “Look at all the lovers” was the first encore song before they covered “Learning To Fly” to honour the late great Tom Petty. Another of my favourites called “San Diego Song” was next. This song is brilliant but just too short! One last song “Just Like That” and this 90 minutes set was over.
The Coronas at Papiersaal
The four Irish lads Danny, Dave, Conor and Graham who are always supported by a 5th unofficial member Jonathan are brilliant musicians and their live shows are top notch. So please visit their homepage for tour dates and check out their new album “Trust the Wire“.
Have you been to one of their shows and enjoyed it too? Let me know in the comments below.

Allgemein, Artist2watch

Artist2Watch: Cary Balsano

kekoaskorner

Cary Balsano brings the Italian summer to Merseyside. He’s been busking the streets of Liverpool for a while and released videos on YouTube. So you maybe already listened to him but you didn’t even realize it. So let me bring him to your attention. He’s originally from Biella, Italy but now lives in the beautiful city of Liverpool. We all know that Liverpool is a music city with very famous musicians coming out of it.
He names Ed Sheeran, Bryan Adams and Coldplay as his musical influences. Very fine artists and absolutely brilliant live. Like Ed Sheeran busking helped growing his following over the years. I was contacted on Twitter and sent the link to a new song called “Horizon”.

 
I always love to listen to links that new artists are sending me and this one did not disappoint. Listen to it! You won’t regret it. It has a summery positive feeling to it. I instantly loved it and check out Cary’s voice! It carries out the singer songwriter feel and I cannot wait to hear more music. I am able to announce that Cary Balsano’s debut album comes out on 18th October. If the album is anything like his first single “Horizon” then we are in for a treat. So mark your calendars and check him out. His 2nd single will be out on 15th November.
Support this wonderful emerging artists on his social media accounts:
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Let me know what you think of his fist single “Horizon” in the comment section below.


 

Allgemein, Concerts

From the view of Welshly Arms' Merch Seller

kekoaskorner

A few weeks ago I read that Welshly Arms are looking for a volunteer at their concert in Mascotte on the 27th Sept. This was my cue since I haven’t bought a ticket yet and I love to help out. So this is how I became their Merch seller 🙂 A few days later I also got the job to interview them for the online magazine ARTNOIR! Lucky me!
I arrived at the venue at 6 and they were still sound checking and I was already lovin’ it. I expected a different sound but this was even better! So I couldn’t wait to interview them and later sell their Merchandising. A few minutes later I met the lovely singer of the band Sam Getz and the brilliant drummer Mickey Gould. The interview in English will follow tonight on my blog. The interview in German is already up on ARTNOIR.
30 mins before the doors opened I got instructed and as soon as the first people strolled in I sold my first pieces. I’m not saying this now because I sold their Merch but I really really loved their stuff. Someone has done a pretty good job at designing them. My two favourites are the grey t-shirt and the red hoodie. I will deffo wear the grey shirt a lot I can already tell 🙂

andrea1
Pic by Denise Stocker

The incredible Andrea Bignasca opened for Welshly Arms that night. I’ve already seen him before and again he blew me away with his powerful voice. Please check this Swiss artist out or visit his next gig in Zurich at Piccolo Giardino on 28th Oct.


 
At 9 the six musicians took the stage and the energy just radiated off them. They couldn’t have started with a better song! “The Touch” is full off energy and the rhythm gets you the minute they start playing it. It was also the song I heard at the sound check. My new favourite song! Have a listen for yourself but let me tell you it has nothing on the live version!

 
The next two songs “Ain’t supposed to rain” and “Love in a minor key” are off their 2015 record titled “Welshly Arms”. The incredible energy continued through out their set. They performed “The Only” before “Hold on I’m Coming” which featured in Tarantino’s H8ful Eight movie. Find out more about this cooperation in my interview. “We move easy” has a super souly vibe and I was dancing and clapping behind my Merch table. One advantage of this table was that I had a lot of space to dance to and I was still able to see them quite well!

welshly2
Pic by Denise Stocker

In “Two seconds too late” they have quite a different clapping rhythm but most people managed to get it right. This song is from 2013 and also a fav of mine. Right after this older song “Who we are” followed and you can literally see their musical journey. By then I knew that I will always come back and see their shows. Some bands you just need to see live and they are definitely one of them. After Welshly Arms’ “Bad Blood” not Taylor Swifts they got the crowd singing with “Dirty Work” and the whole Mascotte gave their best.


Sam introduced everyone on and off the stage which I personally think it’s a very nice thing to do. This is how you appreciated the people you work with. Let me tell you it is a reflection of the character of the band as well. Only the good down to earth bands – who also care about their fans too – do it. Welshly Arms are deffo one of them bands. I got to witness first hand how they treat their fans and me. They are thankful for each and everyone and they take their time to meet them and try to fulfill all their wishes.
In “Down to the river” Bri – the only woman of the band – got to step into the limelight and show off her singing skills as well. Sam introduced the next song like this:

If you are here because of this next song we want to say thank you for coming to see us!

And so they played “Legendary” – their uber hit which is currently played non-stop on the radios. It was a magical moment and it is a brilliant song. However the first song remained my favourite of the night. “Never be the same” was the last song before the encore. Usually the band goes backstage just to come back and play some more songs but those guys they just went off the stage had a quick break and came back on. I loved it! 🙂 Lastly they covered Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge over troubled water” in a special way.
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Right after the concert Sam Getz hopped off stage to come to my Merch table and to meet all the fans. MY work began now. I was glad that the people were nice and had the patience to wait a little. Overall it was an incredible night and every fan left the venue happy. When they were gone the guys came to put the t-shirts away and they were thanking me for helping them sell their Merch but I have to thank them for this amazing experience I would always do it again!
Have you been to the concert then I want to know your opinion below. Did you came to see me at the Merchandising stand, say hi in the comment section 😉
Black and white and indicated pictures by Denise Stocker.
 

Allgemein

Sunshine Blogger Award Challenge

kekoaskorner

In case you are wondering what the Sunshine Blogger Award is let me quickly explain the challenge. It’s a way of connecting with other bloggers and support their message in a positive and creative way.
So these are the rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated you for the Sunshine Award and link back to their blog
  • Answer the questions set by the person who nominated you
  • Nominate other blogs and give them questions to answer
  • Notify your nominees through social media or commenting on their blog
  • List the “rules” and display a Sunshine Award logo in your post

So thank you Curious Pavel for nominating me and I accept the challenge! Here we go:

Q1: Let’s start with a short introduction- what are the 2 sentences that describe you the best?
I love music – yes, that’s why I started my music blog – and football (LFC). Friends would say I am honest and quite funny.
Q2: I am curious (!)… do you believe in New Year Resolutions?
Not really. I think you should set goals during the year and not particularly at New Year’s Eve. But obviously I do have them – everyone does. Mine is always clean the appartment more!
Q3: What is the One Thing people who read this need to realize ASAP?
Jeez that’s a difficult question. Well you my dear reader are on the perfect page for any kinds of information about music and believe me it won’t be boring like so many newspaper articles. I will tell you my opinion but I will be respectful to the artists and I want to know your opinion too.
Q4: Do you have playlist you like to listen when travelling? If so- share the love:)
It depends where I am travelling to! I like to adapt my playlist to the respective country. For example when I fly to London I always listen to Ella Eyre. If I have to drive a long time and I’m starting to get bored I always turn to Onerepublic or The Script. Luckily they both have loads of songs I can sing to and surprisingly the time flies by.
Q5: Favourite cuisine and why it should be our favourite too?
Greek cuisine! Deffo! Okay, maybe Italian too. But Greek cuisine is awesome. It’s not all Gyros and Souvlaki. They have loads of yummy veggie dishes and the deserts are unbelievably good. My favourite greek dish: Briam with Sousoukakia and for breakfast Katimeria!
Q6: Whats the thing that lifts you up when you are feeling down?
My family and my close friends! But oviously also music! Music can lift you up or get you down. There is music for every mood!! Adele makes you sad, P!nk sets your inner rockstar free, Vengaboys make you happy…
Q7: I am sure you are full with stories but what’s the one story you will tell your grandchildren the most?
Puh! Good question! Probably about my amazing time with The Script in Bern. I was chosen to be one of the flag pole bearers at the beginning of the show. So I literally was part of the gig! It was an amazing feeling and so exhilirating. I totally understand why artists love it! As a huge plus I got to meet lovely friends and that’s why we are a Script Family 🙂
Q8: What about someone else’s story? Who fascinated you the most?
I recently watched a Netflix series called Girlboss and it’s about Sophia Amorusos who established a huge fashion company called Nasty Gal from just an ebay and a myspace account! She is fierce and I would like to be more like her sometimes!
Q9: What is the one thing you cannot get right no matter how many times you try?
Math! J I am not good with numbers at all. I studied communications for a reason 😉
Q10: Do you think you can influence others and make a positive change?
I hope so! 🙂 I would like to change loads of people’s habits and be more respectful to the artist and the fellow concert go-ers. But not only that I would love for everyone to be confident and happy with themselves. Just be yourself and that’s F***** Perfect like P!nk sings!
Q11: For “la grand finale”, share one of your recent selfies (no filters please ) 
It’s from my latest blog post: Is it okay to shhh people at a concert?
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So my 11 Questions are: 

  1. I just started my blog and now I’m wondering why you started blogging?
  2. What’s the most special concert you’ve been to?
  3. What would be the connection between your blog theme and music?
  4. I do a lot of crazy things for concerts so what’s been the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
  5. Back to reality. In 5 years where do you want to be with your blog?
  6. I have difficulty to answer this question myself but let’s see if you can. What is your favourite song and why?
  7. Let’s be positive now and lift each other up. Which features do you like most in yourself?
  8. Now that we love ourselves we can be creative. How about short poignant sentence that describes your blog – kind of like slogan.
  9. If you could live through a perfect day how would that day look like?
  10. I love food. So what’s your favourite dish and why?
  11. Lastly if you could meet anyone famous for dinner who would it be and why and where?

I nominate:

  1. Snappylook
  2. Noxmaxima
  3. Geek of All
  4. Beauty that walks
  5. Planet Sarah
  6. Paul McGinley Mental Health
  7. Less Stuff
  8. The Giraffes Life Blog and her YouTube Channel
  9. Roaming Parkers
  10. The Fashion Faux pas of Gabrielle
  11. Mary’s Life
Allgemein, Concerts

Is it okay to Shhh people at a concert?

kekoaskorner
dav
Shhhh

Kekoa thinks: HELL YES! You’ve been waiting for a long time to see your favourite artist and you paid good money and then someone talks about his or her day during your fav song. That is not OK!
Lately I’ve noticed a trend that is really worrying. People go to concerts because they need to be seen at it or more likely they need to take pics for Instagram etc. so people know that they were there. I’ve seen people taking selfies during a performance. To me it’s incredibly weird and imagine the artists who’s singing a heartfelt song and someone suddenly stands in front of you and takes a pic like you’re a statue. Those people actually don’t care about the artists or the music itself. They do not listen to the lyrics and they don’t know a lot of songs. So most of the time they are talking – LOUDLY!
Don’t get me wrong I fully understand that you want to share a funny moment with your concert buddy or you want to take a pic of the band but this can be done quietly or discreetly. I always wondered if the artists on stage can hear people chit chatting and lately I talked to a few and I can confirm they do. It is super disrespectful and I feel sorry not only for the artist but also for the people who really came for the music.
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When I go to a concert I’m totally caught up in the music and often the slow songs are very emotional. So if people talk it is really disturbing. I’ve wondered for a long time what I should do and I used to let it go and be annoyed about it. But you know what? Why should I or you? We came to listen and this is what we want to do now – if people want to talk they can do it outside. A concert is about music and not talking or taking pics!
So now I asked them nicely to be quiet and I do not care if they look at me funny. Unfortunately there are loads of people who are very inconsiderate and that’s just the way it is. Let me tell you another story: A few years ago P!nk asked everyone to stand up for “Leave me Alone (I’m Lonely) ” – yes I still know – and dance with her so my concert buddy and I did. A few seconds later I got tapped on the shoulder and was rudely be told to sit down. I could not understand this either. The artist asks you to stand up and you stay seated that’s one thing but then you go ahead and ruin someone else’s concert is another.
So next time you are at a concert and someone is telling everyone what they’ve been up to, tell them to please be quiet in a nice voice and hope for the best!
Have you had a similar experience and would you shhh a person during a concert? Do you think it’s ok? Comment below or on my social media accounts: twitter, instagram and facebook.

Allgemein, Interviews

One evening with Jessiquoi

kekoaskorner

I approached Jessie through Instagram and she was very open to my interview request. She invited me to her show in the Kontiki bar in Zurich. She is a super nice woman who knows what she wants when it comes to music.
I thought I was there for just the interview but then I was able to stay throughout her show. Believe me you have to see it. It’s incredible! I didn’t know what I was in for because I missed her set at the Gurtenfestival. So when she started it blew me away. It is so asian and so special I cannot describe it. I stood next to an asian guy who danced to it and I’ve never seen an asian guy move like that. It was a brilliant experience.

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Jessiquoi producing music

Jessiquoi transforms into this energetic figure who produces unique songs with her loop pedal and her laptop and this special guitar with lights. It is the perfect club music and people there loved it.
Before her a little over an hour set we sat down for the interview you can read below:
 
You’ve played the Waldbühne at Gurtenfestival and you’re playing Zurich Openair on Wednesday, 23rd August. So what would be your favourite or most special venue you want to play in?
It’s my big dream to go on tour in Asia. There is a club, which I discovered when I was in Shanghai once so I think my favourite venue would be a shanghainese late night club.
Your music is super special. How did you come up with the idea to use a loop pedal and have some Asian influences as well?
The looping came to me through an artist that I follow. Her name is Kawehi. She is a completely DIY looping artist and she lives in Kansas, US. Se is completely unsigned and lives with her husband and dogs in a farmhouse and she completely built her career on posting looping videos on YouTube. A lot of the set up that I have today came from her. She’s really cool and she gives advice to people. She posted a photo of her set up and that’s how I figured out how I wanted to make my own set up.
The asian stuff comes from a friend in China when I first moved to Switzerland I was learning German and she introduced me to Chinese pop music. It’s totally kitschy and it’s close to K-pop (Korean Popular Music). For some reason I really liked it and we started singing chinese pop songs. Later, she invited me to China and I went there and was totally captivated by the sounds in Chinese pop music. They also use traditional instruments. That’s where the influence came from.
Do you speak Chinese?
I speak a little bit of Chinese but not as well as I’d like to. But I can do the basics.
Wow, that’s really good!
As you just said you basically moved halfway across the earth when you were 15. How did that happen?
I’m actually half Swiss. I grew up in Australia, my Mother is Austrialian and my father is Swiss from Bern. I grew up speaking English at home and my parents decided to move to Switzerland when I was 15 for financial reasons. My parents both got great jobs here and that was it. The funny thing is that they live back in Australia now and I’m still here. I didn’t like it at first but I didn’t start making music until I moved to Switzerland so lot’s of good things came out of it. 
You’ve toured quite a few festivals this summer but you haven’t released an album yet. Is that something you have on the agenda as the next step?
I am working on my album. The thing is that I’m unsigned – still – I have had a meeting with a couple of Bern based labels but I decided not to sign yet because I prefer to be with an international label. So I’m just going to keep working on my album and start sending it out. I’m looking to secure a release date for 2018. So there will definitely be another single by the end of this year. I always release my music on all the major platforms and also band camp.
I’ve heard of band camp before but never checked it out.
You’ve never heard of band camp? It’s really great! There are artists who put their music on band camp exclusively and build a following. I’ve heard of a guy who funded his kids’ entire college education by selling his music on band camp. Band camp is a lot fairer to the artists. The artists get most of the revenue so it’s a really good thing. I personally put my music on everything but there are artists who just put their music on band camp and they do quite well with it. So it’s definitely worth looking at.
Last Question. What needs to happen that you would say „Yup I made it with my music!“?
 Oh, that is a good question. Right now I can’t live from my music. I’m still working in bars etc. I don’t like the idea of being super super famous and not be able to sit in a restaurant just like that without being approached by people. That would be a horrible way to live. I would really love to have a steady following who are the exchange that I have with the public. That is like a growing and on-going exchange which also becomes a part of the music and then I would also like to pay my bills. That would be pretty much „made it“ for me.
That’s a good answer. Thank you very much for the interview.
 
Later she reveiled to me that she would also like to produce the soundtrack of a Zelda game since she is a huge fan of that game series.
I think she is a great artists with a bright future ahead of her and I wish her all the best and I hope one day she can say “Yup I made it”! 🙂
Have I made you curious about her? Then please check her out and click on the links below.
Web: jessiquoi.com
Instagram: @that_certain_jessiquoi
Facebook: @thatcertainjessiquoi
YouTube: www.youtube.com/Jessiquoi
Live:
20.08.2017 Les Digitales Festival, La Chaux-de-Fonds
23.08.2017 Zurich Openair
02.09.2017 Les Digitales Festival, Bern
18.11.2017 Queen Kong Club, Neuchâtel