Under the Radar: Wends

Wends

When Wends dropped out of an electrical engineering degree at Edinburgh University to pursue a career in music, it should not have come as a surprise. At the age of eight she was already writing songs on the piano and by her mid-teens was out busking.

Now based in Glasgow, she is a sought-after emcee who combines toasting with soulful singing and has been featured on a range of reggae and hip-hop releases. Moreover, her own Wends & Friends nights is a pillar of the local scene and she has also cultivated connections outside Scotland, collaborating with producers from France to South America.

Tomorrow sees the release of the single Tall As A Mountain, featuring Wends on vocals with trad reggae crossover act An Dannsa Dub. This will be followed on 24 April by the track High & Mighty, recorded with Conscious Route, with whom she will also be performing at the Pitch showcase as part of Scotland at FOCUS Wales in Wrexham in May. Other summer dates include Hills of Eden Dub Gathering (Austria), Tremetterra Festival (Spain) and the return of Wends & Friends to the Eden Festival (Moffat). Engineering’s loss is clearly music’s gain. See www.linktr.ee/wends.mc

Olaf Furniss and Derick Mackinnon run music industry seminar and social night Born To Be Wide, see www.borntobewide.co.uk

TwinCity are twin brother choreographers and creative directors, Tornike and Giorgi Jibladze. Their credits include Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, The Voice, major international brand campaigns and original theatrical works. In February and March, they visit Scotland as part of South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture’s Future Pathways programme where they’ll offer young people high-level dance classes, workshops and mentoring incorporating creative entrepreneurship and culminating with a final showcase performance https://twincitydancestudio.com/