Groundation und Hollie Cook

Hearing bands take influences from multiple genres and creating something fresh and new is something that I really admire, especially when they play their own music live, and Groundations fusion of roots reggae, jazz and dub creates an original and exciting genre of music. Harrison Stafford, the front man of the band, is an incredibly talented guitarist as well as a singer, and he holds the 9 piece band together really well.
The combination of the instrumental tracks, and the songs with vocals on them was great, and the way that they seamlessly transitioned from one song into the next was very controlled and if you didn’t know the music you would think it was one extended song. The band don’t use any electronic or digital equipment or in their recordings, so their authentic 70s sound remains present in their performances.
They occasionally had a break between songs, and they would shout out to the audience, see if we were all enjoying the show, and get everyone to sway or dance along to the tracks when it was appropriate. They played a selection of tracks ranging from their first album Young Tree, right up to A Miracle, the 2014 album. It was a great variety, and they’re an extremely talented bunch.

Hollie Cook hails from West London, and comes from musical roots with her Dad being Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. She found solace in music from Marc Bolan, David Bowie and The Cure, and has been fascinated by arts from a young age having gotten into professional acting, singing and modeling. One day she decided that all of those performing arts just weren’t for her and found her way into performing on her own from a family friend called Ari Up, whom she sang backing vocals for.

I had the chance to go and see this songstress perform in her hometown, London UK, where she performed a set that was heavily reggae inspired. She worked the crowd fantastically, getting the audience involved in dancing and singing exerts of the song back to her. The whole vibe was just so fun, and it was a real party atmosphere. Backed by such an all star band of fantastic musicians, it is no wonder that everyone was having the best time throughout her set.