Hot Music Live Presents Volume 13
Sounds
This collection is the thirteenth in a series celebrating the inspiring & diverse talent of Coventry & Warwickshire musicians of yesterday, today & tomorrow.
When you have enjoyed the music yourself, please do share the album with others to help promote & support the creativity of these innovative, authentic, dedicated & skilled musicians.
'Hot Music Live Presents Volume Thirteen' is dedicated to the memory of Matthew John Mansfield (aka Matt Hernández) (7th July 1969 to 2nd July 2024). Matt's championing of new, often very young original musical talent was central to the revival of the local music scene & many of those featured on volumes of 'Hot Music Live Presents' were given their first live performance opportunities (before supportive audiences) by him. This in turn created the environment which made HMLP possible.
A virtuoso guitarist (notably, but by no means solely, in flamenco style), we are delighted to feature one of his own songs here.
"I'm really shocked to hear of Matt's passing. How sad. He did so much for me in my early days and I really owe a lot to him for building my confidence and giving me places to play" (Ellie Gowers)
"I’m so saddened to hear of Matt’s passing. I have memories of a very warm and welcoming guy. I will always be grateful for him giving me some of my first gigs when I started out. He went out of his way to spotlight upcoming artists. I was only recently talking about his guitar playing last week. Such a talented and kind hearted spirit." (Emma McGann)
"I have such fond memories of the great nights of music Matt used to curate and host in the pubs around Warwick. I cut my musical teeth and met and heard a huge amount of people at them." (Wes Finch)
"Matt has been a positive force in my family’s life for many years from two different angles: Firstly, from the flamenco music angle as my late brother Ray (also an accomplished flamenco guitarist) teamed up with Matt to form a flamenco group, along with dancers Anna and Louise Davies. Over the years, Matt and Ray held a deep respect for each other and it was great to see my brother’s confidence blossom through working with Matt. When Ray suddenly died in 2015, Matt played flamenco guitar at his funeral and I passed one of Ray’s guitars to Matt so it would continue to be played into the future by his more than capable hands.
Secondly, in his role as a huge supporter of local original music, when Matt heard our originals band, Alchemista (formed by myself and other half Caroline), he booked us at Warwick Beer Festival in 2018. Since then, Matt has always given Alchemista the chance to play at Warwick Beer Festival. In recent years this has been a lifesaver as the band has struggled to get back to normal since the pandemic and suffered some setbacks. But Matt has always given us that chance to play when other local music organisers might have forgotten about us, which has enabled us to kick-start the band again.
Matt’s strong encouragement of original local music has always been evident. Matt has always made Alchemista feel particularly comfortable playing original material within this scenario through making us feel valued when other organisers might have put us on at the beginning of the afternoon as an anomaly.... Somehow, and magically, the audience always seem to have always picked up on that respect and proved amenable to hearing new material.
We will always be grateful for what Matt has done for Alchemista, and for the confidence he encouraged in my brother Ray, remembering at the same time that what he has done for our family has just been a very tiny fragment of all he has done for other local musicians." (Colin Halliwell)
"Matt, and Craig were the first people I met in Warwick on an open mic night at the Great Western, decades ago now. And, we've had some times!
From Mellow Gold, Open Mics, the Great WestFest, Beer Fests... the list goes on. But he was a catalyst and avid supporter of it all, giving the Warwick music scene a stage on which to thrive.
Tears will flow today as Warwick and beyond mourn a true hero of the music scene. I only hope that he knew how profound an impact he has made on all who knew him" (Anthony Gliddon)
"Very lucky to have so many great memories of Matthew; An incredibly kind & supportive man who gave me many of my first opportunities to perform at open mics & local music nights (first ones being The Clarendon & Grand Union some 12/13 years ago) always introducing me as ‘young Joe’ and trying to convince the audience we were father & son: I always looked up to him as a role model and certainly wouldn’t have the career I do today without Matt and that all I learnt from him, I’m so grateful to have had many years of friendship with Matt and I will miss him greatly" (Joe Dolman)
"Matthew Mansfield/Hernandez was such a talented, kind, guy and my thoughts go out to his family.
His warmth, humour and general welcoming approach to people always made me feel like I knew him well. ..I didn’t though. But I’m glad to have called him a friend and to have spent many evenings playing at his musical nights (The Great Western evenings particularly stand out in my mind.). They were a mirror of the enthusiasm, love, and generosity of spirit he had for music and people. He helped me through a very rough patch, knowing his nights were a tonic for me. Through his own amazing musicianship and the events he organised, he made a huge musical family, that will miss him always. ..I will" (Ben Clempson)
The previous twelve volumes can all still be downloaded for free from: hotmusiclivepresents.bandcamp.com
You can find out what each artist is up to on their individual websites or by following "Hot Music Live Presents" & “Hot Music Live” magazine on social media:
- facebook.com/groups/1059868484187225/
- facebook.com/HotMusicLive
- twitter.com/HotPresents
- twitter.com/HotMusicLive
- instagram.com/hotmusiclive/
- youtube.com/channel/UC_BLgRK3chKctKbwU3KGQtQ
- open.spotify.com/user/8prllnhc70fhudsra764m1aix?si=f1cd762f4a50422c
Many thanks to every single one of the generous & supportive musicians who have contributed their considerable talent to this project. The music scene of Coventry & Warwickshire has so many artists of vision, integrity & sense of community: hopefully this project can give a sense of some of this.
Credits:
Released August 17, 2024
Album compiled by Andy Holdcroft
Executive Producers Paul Englefield & Alan Moores of "Hot Music Live" magazine
Hot Music Live logo designed by Mel Skellon.
Hot Music Live Presents Volume Thirteen
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