Surianne still aiming for a future in music

Back in April I reported in these columns that I had caught up with Surianne Dalmedo on the release of her last single ‘My Heart’ and this summer I’m saying that July will bring her closer to realizing those dreams of a career in music. Why do I say this? Because the first week of July will see her performing in a UK music festival (The Eyes Have It) in which she has already performed twice before. That is a significant achievement for an unsigned artist from little Gibraltar.  They don’t just call you back to appear in a UK music festival unless their patrons have specifically requested you as an act that’s worth repeating.  

If you have heard Surianne sing live, you already know that she is always worth a listen because her bubbly personality coupled with stagecraft and her soaring voice, to which she applies her original songs and judicious classic covers when called for, ensure that she is always kept busy gigging local music venues, especially during the summer season. However life is not all about gigging if she already has plans to make successful inroads into the music industry which would make it viable to live off its rewards eventually. That is the goal she has set herself. 

Enjoying a coffee during her lunchbreak from work at Bayside School, we sit among students’ chatter at Devil’s Tongue, as I try to focus her attention in order to track the progress of her journey so far. It’s easy - as she’s always focussed when talking about music. It’s her lifelong passion. 

“We released our last single ‘My Heart’ with an in-store launch at Marble Arch in late April. I collaborate with them as my official Surianne merchandise outlet. It was an acoustic event and we performed a few songs with my new guitarist Nich Richardson. It was a successful launch, which leads us to our forthcoming event on June 26 at the Arena in Ocean Village. We shall be playing with our full band plus a special guest keyboard player who’s flying in from UK. His name is Sassan and he will also be joining us in a London gig at the ‘Shakespeare’ in the Barbican on July 4 and at our third appearance in ‘The Eyes Have It’ music festival in Derby on July 5.” 

The gig at The Arena will be a precursor to the London gigs and will present the band with an opportunity to try out Surianne’s new material on a live crowd. “We shall be playing our best known original songs, including the last three singles and importantly, premiering new material with my band who are, Nich Richardson on guitar, Louis Chipolina on bass and Albert Gonzales on drums. Not forgetting Sassan our special guest keyboard player.  

“The Arena is an open event which starts at 8.30pm with Gustavo ‘Goose’ on vocals and acoustic guitar. ‘Goose’ who is only 19, used to be in a teen band. He’s very talented. We should be onstage around 9.30pm and I’m really looking forward to our  ‘showcase gig’ as it will be with the musicians who will be travelling with me to London for our two special gigs”. 

I wanted to know why Surianne  had skipped playing  at ‘The Eyes Have It’ music festival in Derby  last year and it was  because she went to record some songs in Madrid with her band, so the dates clashed. Spanish record producer Will Guillermo Maya had dates available which clashed with the festival dates. 

 Surianne has plans to go to Madrid again and record her new songs which will then be released on social media platforms at monthly intervals. These  releases are aimed at keeping her music in public awareness . She can be regularly seen on her social media posts which can be enjoyed better if you follow her. 

“The way I see it, nowadays new music has to be released regularly, so that a catalogue builds up. The long term view is that it can then become an album later on. I’m planning to record this October, just as soon as my band confirm their availability for those recordings. We all have day jobs and families so we have to juggle a bit. We plan to record five songs in Madrid, if we can fit them into the recording  schedule. We will be using the same producer (Will Maya) who already knows our sound and style.” 

Surianne has a long term plan to try and become a professional musician. By performing at half a dozen music festivals per year across UK, and Europe and adding some local gigs, she would achieve the financial security which would allow her to live off her music and allow her more time to write and record new songs. She is a very determined artist whom I have known for many years and I can vouch for her consistency and her ascending trajectory.                       

She has promised to keep me in the loop about her upcoming UK dates and I hope to catch up with her again after the band’s projected October recordings in Madrid.  Fortune favours the brave as the saying goes, so I hope that her talent, hard work and determination, rewards her future as a musician and song writer.  

She deserves that elusive big break which all artists dream about because she works hard towards achieving that goal. It’s all part of her master plan and I wish for her sake, that it were also written in the stars.